


Nightshade

by Eibon



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: Action, F/M, Romance, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-15 14:42:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13033335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eibon/pseuds/Eibon
Summary: A mission to track down a killer becomes a fight for survival when a mysterious attacker poisons Black Star with a deadly toxin. As he struggles to stay alive, Tsubaki has no choice but to flee with him into unfamiliar territory. Cut off from allies and pursued by foes that seem hellbent on their annihilation, will Black Star and Tsubaki emerge from this fight stronger than ever or will this ordeal be the end of their partnership in more ways than one?





	Nightshade

**Author's Note:**

> This is my story entry for GrigoriWing's Resbang 2017. Artwork provided by Foxi and Auroskhai. Story Beta Reader Zxanthe.

The gondola lift steadily descended towards the forest floor, its three occupants gazing out through the cabin's transparent glass walls. All around them, the skyline was dominated by massive spires of tan sandstone, each one overgrown with dense pockets of trees like thick green moss. The valleys that formed in the shadows of these giants were similarly blanketed by a canopy of trees. A heavy mist hung in the distance, giving the whole landscape a dreamlike quality.

Tsubaki was instantly struck by the beauty of the scene, briefly wishing she had brought a camera. Her partner Black Star was focusing on something else entirely.

"Fuck me it's hot out here," he said, tugging on his collar. She immediately wished he hadn't put it like that, not simply for his crass choice of words but because now she couldn't stop herself from contemplating the idea. The sight of sweat dripping down the nape of his neck certainly didn't help take her mind off this thought. When had the bombastic kid she teamed up with all those years ago become such a hunk?

"Hey Tsubaki?" Black Star asked, waving a hand in front of her. "You okay over there?"

"Hmm?" She snapped back to attention, eyes focusing on his face. "Oh! Yes, I'm fine."

He furrowed his brow and leaned in towards her. She stood stock-still under his intense scrutiny. As his hand reached up to touch her forehead, she felt her heartbeat quicken.

"You're looking a little red," he said, withdrawing his hand. "And you feel warm. You sure you're not coming down with a fever?"

"N-no!" she said, turning away. "Like you said, it's just... really hot."

"You're not here on vacation," Azusa called out from behind them. They regarded her promptly as she continued, "This is a serious mission, now act like it."

"Yes ma'am!" Tsubaki said.

"Yeah, yeah," Black Star said, shrugging his shoulders. His gaze drifted back over the landscape. "I don't know how you're expecting me to find this guy, though. I can't see souls."

Azusa adjusted her glasses. "I'll worry about finding the target and directing you to him. You just focus on doing what you do best."

"Kicking ass and taking names. Can do, boss lady," he said with a curt salute. He flinched as she moved uncomfortably close to him, her glower only partially obscured by the glare off her glasses.

"I expect you to take this seriously, Black Star. You're working directly under me today, and I won't tolerate any mistakes. Understood?" He smiled nervously and vigorously nodded his head. She turned and said, "Tsubaki, I expect you to keep your partner in line. Can I trust this won't be a problem?"

"No problem, ma'am," she replied.

Azusa turned her back on them. "You both need to recognize the gravity of this situation. We have a dangerous killer on the loose out there. He's already put one of our meisters in the hospital. We need to find him and put him out of commission."

Tsubaki was having trouble listening to Azusa's speech, mostly because Black Star had one hand held up in front of him flapping in an exaggerated parody of her. She tried to ignore his performance at first but found his mockery increasingly distracting. She glared at him, motioning for him to knock it off.

"Am I boring you, Tsubaki?" Azusa asked, catching her by surprise.

She frowned. Black Star seemed to have ended his act just in time to avoid detection. She faced forward and said, "No ma'am."

Azusa sighed as the gondola lift came to a stop. "I want you two to set up half a kilometer north of here. I'll get established back at base camp and contact you when I'm ready to begin scanning. Dismissed."

Black Star shuffled after Tsubaki as she disembarked from the cabin. He turned as he heard Azusa call his name one last time.

"Just remember," she said, another glare reflecting off her glasses. "I've always got my eye on you."

He shuddered, leapt down to the forest floor, and ran after his partner. His expression softened as he noticed her sour disposition. "Would you feel better if the Great Black Star said he was sorry?"

"I would feel better if the Great Black Star wouldn't act like a fool in the first place," she said, continuing to march forward.

"Oh come on," he said. "What was I supposed to do, just stand there while she acts like an uptight jerk? Who does she think she is, saying I need to be kept in line?"

She stopped and turned to him. "You do remember you're wearing the demon tool, right?"

He stopped dead in his tracks. He actually had forgotten about the small, metal headset. Static began to crackle in through the earpiece.

"Black Star," Azusa's voice came through the static, her tone threatening to freeze him solid. "You and I are going to have a nice, long chat when this is over."

His attention jerked back to the gondola lift as it rose back into the sky. He could see Azusa up in the cabin glaring daggers down at him. Tsubaki shook her head and continued on without him.

"Tsubaki, wait up!" he called out, chasing after her. He tried not to focus on the sway of her hips. As much as he may have wanted to, now seemed like a bad time to flirt with her.

Their trek through the forest was sweltering but mostly quiet. The occasional bird call overhead or the skittering of some creature through the brush were the most prominent sounds besides their own footsteps. As they ventured deeper in, the raw scent of earth and greenery overpowered their senses. Above them the tree canopy was dense enough to block out the spires in the distance but not so thick as to prevent bars of light from streaming in to illuminate the forest floor.

It was hard for Black Star to imagine the rather idyllic location as the site of a battle but with three reported casualties and one Academy student left in the infirmary after trying to hunt down the killer, there was no denying the danger present somewhere in this forest. _Which was of course why Kid called in the big guns to take care of this bastard_ , he thought to himself.

"Right up ahead should be the spot," Tsubaki said. "Tell Azusa she can sync up with us whenever she's ready."

He nodded and pushed the microphone on his earpiece closer to his mouth. "We are a go for resonance, boss lady. Over."

"Understood," she replied. "And Azusa will be fine. Over."

Tsubaki's form melted into shadow and sunk down into the earth. The shadow snaked across the ground towards her partner, springing up around him before reforming into a long black chain that ended in a large, curved blade. Black Star's hand wrapped around the handle.

As the wavelengths of their souls began to thrum in harmony, both of them could feel a third frequency, sharp and focused, join in with the familiar rhythm of their souls in resonance. The sensation was uncomfortable at first, like a shrill, alien note in the middle of a familiar song but soon the third wavelength leveled out and the resonance became stable once more.

"Huh," Black Star said. "That's actually pretty solid. Maybe we have more in common than we thought. Over."

"Let's just say," Azusa said, "that I have plenty of experience working with people like you, Black Star. Over."

"Impossible," he replied, his chest puffed out like an emperor penguin. "I'm one of a kind."

Tsubaki laughed awkwardly, trying to avoid another escalation. "Let's put a pin in that for now and focus on finding our target."

Azusa was silent for a moment. Black Star could feel his own senses grow sharper as she piggybacked on them to scan the surrounding area. "I'm detecting slight movements in the immediate area, local wildlife mostly, but stay on guard. Begin searching the area in a grid pattern built on one kilometer intervals."

"Roger that. Over," he replied before leaping up onto the branch of a nearby tree. "Geez, and I thought Kid was bad."

Tsubaki sighed. "Black Star..."

"You're _still_ on the radio, genius," Azusa said.

He grimaced. "Uh, I mean- I can't," he said before making a loud, hissing noise. "Breaking up. Over."

He gracefully leapt from one branch to the next, travelling through the trees with a practiced swiftness. "So how much do we know about this guy?"

"Not much," Tsubaki replied. "Most we've got on him is he's tall, dresses in black, uses bladed weapons, and relies on stealth attacks."

He let out a groan. "Sounds like a ninja. I hate fighting ninjas."

"Then just be glad you don't have to fight yourself today," Azusa's voice cut in. "Take a right here."

He swung a right around a tree trunk and launched himself onto the side of a nearby pillar. "I don't need to sneak up on an unsuspecting foe," he said as he precariously ran along the cliff face. "I'll look my opponent in the eye before I kill them. That's how a war god fights."

"Yeah, we've never really had much luck with stealth anyway," Tsubaki said in a somewhat resigned voice.

Azusa hmm'd as Black Star desperately tried to refute that assessment of his skill. She paid him no mind, focusing instead on their resonance. As she zeroed in on him she could see the world as he saw it. The forest around her rushed by at blinding speed as though she were the one running along the cliff face. Through the blur of motion her meticulous perception picked up on the most minute of details. A strong gust of wind rustling the neighboring trees. A fish leaping out of a stream below with a splash. A flock of birds flying above them. A silhouette lurking in the distance.

"I'm picking up someone forty-eight meters to the northwest. Head left through those trees."

He launched himself off the rock wall towards the treetops. Getting an overhand grip on a smooth branch with both hands, he swung his whole body up until he could plant his feet firmly on the branch. He leapt off it towards another branch, making his way over the heavily entrenched thicket below, following Azusa's directions.

He dropped down into a clearing past the dense tangle of greenery. The canopy up above was dense, blocking out vast patches of the sky and leaving much of the area enshrouded in darkness. His eyes swept over the clearing but detected no movement in the shadows surrounding him.

"Azusa, I'm not seeing any-" He stopped mid-sentence, Azusa silencing him with a shush. There was silence from all three of them for a moment, Tsubaki and Black Star both waiting with some apprehension for her to speak.

"Black Star," she spoke at last. "Sweep towards the north. Tsubaki, throw up a shadow net along his path. There's someone here and I don't want us caught off-guard."

"Right," she replied, her shape changing into a sleek white katana as her meister stepped carefully to the right.

A rustling came from across the clearing. Azusa called out a warning just as a figure obscured by the darkness sprinted out of the brush towards them.

The was a sudden flurry of motion. Black Star turned towards the attacker, bringing his sword up in a defensive stance. Tendrils of solid shadow sprouted up from the ground like stalagmite. The attacker swiftly weaved between the animated shadows and swung a sharp, metal blade at him.

A high, grating crash echoed through the forest as steel met steel. In the instant between attacks, Black Star sized up his foe. He was tall and lanky, his limbs bending in an almost unnatural manner like some great marionette. Dark cloth covered his entire body save his eyes; definitely the ninja they were looking for. His weapon, now only inches away, was something like a chakram with a handle through the center and two long dagger blades extending out in opposite directions from the circular edge.

He was surprised to see his attacker produce a second, identical weapon in his left hand. The ninja thrust this second blade through the air towards his head. Black Star parried the bizarre weapon and sidestepped to the right, swinging his sword high towards his opponent's head. The ninja crossed his blades to catch the katana in the crux between them.

Black Star felt fire burn through his muscles as the ninja pushed his sword back towards him. He heard Tsubaki let out a half-stifled cry of anguish as she too struggled against the force of the blades. Desperate to break free, he leaned forward as far as he could and drove one foot into the ninja's belly. The ninja groaned and leapt backwards, allowing him to pull his katana free. As the ninja landed awkwardly, more tendrils of shadows streaked out from the ground towards him, sending him dodging for safety and giving them some much-needed distance.

"You okay?" Black Star asked, his breathing labored.

"I'm fine," Tsubaki said, catching her own breath. "We need to disarm him."

"He's pretty strong," he replied, twirling the katana at his side. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" She didn't speak. In his grasp, her katana melted into liquid shadow that spun around his hand like ink swirling down a drain. As it resolidified it took on the shape of a large black shuriken with intricate white patterns etched on the blades. "Huh. I guess you are."

He threw his new weapon towards the ninja and leapt up into the air. The ninja snapped to attention, deflecting the shuriken back towards Black Star with a flick of his wrist. Unfortunately for him, Black Star was counting on this reaction; in mid-air, with pinpoint timing, he drove one fist cleanly through the center of the shuriken, his arm taking on the same white-on-black pattern as the weapon circled over it. He pulled that arm back as he descended through the air towards his foe, winding up for a devastating punch.

The ninja was caught off-guard as Black Star's punch glanced off his shoulder and forced him back. As he attempted to retaliate with one of his chakram weapons, Black Star grabbed it with his shuriken-clad hand, his grip strong enough to warp the steel of the blade. He pulled the ninja in close and delivered a solid hook to his jaw with his free hand, knocking the ninja back and pulling the damaged weapon from his hand.

"That's one down," Black Star said, dropping the twisted steel to the ground.

"Black Star, turn around!" Azusa cried.

Ice water flooded through his veins. He could hear the faintest of breaths, the subtlest of steps across the forest floor towards him. How the hell had he missed someone sneaking up on him? He pivoted on his right foot, turning just in time to see a long needle stabbing towards his neck.

His right hand, still sheathed in Tsubaki's power, instinctively came up to knock the needle out of someone's hand. That someone was a second attacker clad in the same concealing black uniform. This ninja was not an exact copy, however. He was shorter and slimmer. His stance alone showed far more grace than the lanky one had displayed.

He was swift, too, his other hand striking up towards Black Star's face like a cobra. Black Star brought his bare left hand up to block the follow-up strike and felt something sharp graze his skin. The ninja had palmed a second needle when he wasn't looking.

Black Star didn't give him a chance for another hit, striking him in the shoulder with the heel of his palm. The ninja let out a muffled cry as he was flung backwards. Black Star started after him but froze after taking a single step.

"Black Star?" Tsubaki asked. "Black Star, what's wrong?"

His face twisted into a grimace. Burning pain shot through his hand. He gripped his wrist and looked down to see a long, shallow cut along his hand. Certainly not the cause of this pain. But if not that, then what?

"Look out!" his partner shouted.

He ignored the shooting pain as he turned and leapt to the side, avoiding the downward arc of the dagger blade. The lanky freak was back up and ready for round two. Black Star dodged two more strikes as his shuriken melted back into shadow that crept down his arm. With a fourth attack the ninja drove the blade straight through Black Star's chest.

Black Star seemed unfazed by the weapon stuck through his body. His face was frozen in a determined look and his body seemed to fray and skip at the edges like a video image that had been paused. The ninja didn't quite understand what had happened until he felt a boot being driven into his back. He turned to find another Black Star kicking off of him. The ninja swung his blade through this Black Star too. It split in half into another fraying, static image.

Black Star appeared behind him once more, a kunai pointed at his foe's calf as he moved to strike but instead froze mid-stab. His vision blurred as the pain in his hand kicked into overdrive. The ninja noticed his hesitation and turned to bring his weapon down like an executioner's blade. Black Star leapt back from the blade but was unprepared as his accomplice swept behind him with another needle.

Unable to leap away in time, he brought his kunai up to block. The needle clattered against the blade and slid past it, finding purchase in the flesh of his arm. Blinding pain shot through the spot where it hit. He jumped back, his breathing erratic as he stood on guard. Both ninjas circled around him.

"Black Star, what's happening?" Tsubaki asked. "Your movements are slow and your breathing is all over the place."

"Something…" he started but trailed off. He looked at the spot where the needle had struck, his eyes struggling to focus. "Something in that needle he hit me with."

Deep in the confines of her soul, Tsubaki's eyes widened. "Poison?" Her words were knotted with dread. "This is bad. We need to get you out of here."

"Don't think they're gonna make that easy," he replied as he eyed the two ninjas before him. The lanky one brandished his weapon through the air while his accomplice produced another needle in his free hand. With a wave of his hands the smaller ninja sent both needles flying towards him. Black Star leapt straight up in the air, swinging himself onto a tree branch as the needles embedded into the trunk with a heavy thwack.

He had barely set foot on the branch before the lanky ninja was hanging in the air inches above him, ready to stab his weapon down. Black Star stepped backwards, narrowly dodging the blade. His steps were wobbling, unsteady as he backed into the tree's trunk. The ninja rotated the weapon's grip, pointing the back blade forward before driving it towards his cornered foe. Black Star hastily swung around to the other side of the trunk to watch with some anxiety as the blade struck clean through the trunk, the tip barely visible from his side of the tree.

"Azusa, we need some covering fire here!" he shouted into his microphone as he leapt to another tree. Garbled static was all that came back as the smaller ninja appeared far on his left to launch another volley of needles. He deflected the poisoned spikes and crashed onto another branch before shouting, "Azusa, help us out here! Over!"

"I'm co- *kshhh* -hold on ju-" was all he heard before a cacophonous explosion of static rang through his eardrum. In the distance a loud boom echoed over the forest.

"What was that?" Tsubaki asked, hoping that she was wrong. Hoping that explosion hadn't been what she thought it was. Hoping that Azusa was still talking to him over the earpiece, that help was on the way.

Black Star dodged another volley of needles as he jumped up through the tree canopy, clamoring up onto a small ledge along the side of a stone pillar. His chest burned as he looked up towards the spot where Azusa had set up to see smoke billowing up over the trees. His body felt very heavy as the reality of the situation sunk in: Azusa was gone and back-up wasn't coming.

"Oh no." Tsubaki heard herself speak the words but on some level refused to believe them. Everything was playing out before her like some terrible nightmare from which she couldn't wake. She snapped out of her malaise as she saw the first ninja jumping up out of the canopy towards them. "Look out!"

Black Star was barely able to stand as he saw his foe descending down on him. He juked right, throwing himself off the ledge and out of immediate harm's way. The chakram-like weapon plunged into the cliff face, its blade snapping free as it dug up chunks of rock. He took some small satisfaction in that as he felt himself plummeting towards what was most likely his death.

"Go limp!" Tsubaki shouted as her weapon form unraveled into tendrils of shadow. He didn't need much encouragement, his muscles going slack as the shadows wrapped around his body. He watched more black tendrils snap out towards rocks, branches, anything that she could get a hold of as she desperately tried to slow their descent. He felt his body slam against branches again and again as they passed back through the canopy. He reflexively shut his eyes as the forest floor rapidly rose up to meet him.

 

**

 

Pain. That was the first sensation he felt as consciousness returned to him. Pain in his head, in his chest. Pain spiderwebbed throughout his bones and muscles. Pain burning through his veins, rapidly stealing away his strength and his life.

The second sensation was someone shouting at him, desperately trying to rouse him back to action. It was so very tempting to ignore the pleading voice, to collapse into a pile and just give up. Leave all of this agony and move on to whatever the next life held. Then he recognized the voice calling out to him.

"Black Star get up! They're still coming! Black Star!"

Tsubaki.

His eyes flew open. He was splayed out on the ground, leaves and soft earth clinging to the side of his face. He could see the path they'd taken in for a landing by the trail of broken branches and upturned earth behind him. He pushed himself onto his knees with a great deal of effort. All around him he heard movement through the forest, the sounds of predators drawing nearer towards their quarry.

"Thank goodness!" she cried, the briefest hint of hope in her voice. "Can you still move?"

"I don't…" he began, his breathing labored. "I don't think I can."

"You have to!" she said. "They're not going to take you alive. If they catch you, you're dead!" She was right, of course. If he didn't move now he was a goner. Which meant she was as good as dead too.

He wasn't about to let that happen. Not while he still drew breath.

"Tsubaki, I need you to take the wheel."

"What?" she asked after a very brief pause.

"The Uncanny Blade," he said. "You can use it to hijack my soul and get us out of here."

Her voice was soft as she said, "Black Star, you know I can't do that."

"We don't have a choice," he said. The rustling in the woods drew closer, their small window of time shrinking every second. "Just get us somewhere safe enough to hide."

"I won't!" she shouted. "In the state you are now, I could kill you!"

"If you don't, they will!" he shouted back.

The rustling sound of leaves was now right on top of them, something heavy dropping down through the canopy. In the periphery of his vision he could see a figure in black skulking through the trees. It was now or never.

"Dammit," she said. He felt the familiar hilt of Tsubaki's blade form in his hand. He smiled, silently thanking her as he felt the tendrils of shadow slither across his body. He looked up to see the larger ninja descending on him from above. He had his chakram turned around, his last remaining blade pointed down towards him. This was the last thing he saw before he saw nothing, before his consciousness quietly drifted into the background and, for the briefest of moments, he experienced oblivion.

The ninja's blade never made contact with him. Black Star sprung to his feet, his eyes white and his skin tattooed with intricate black designs, and brought his katana up to stop the blade.

"Dammit!" Tsubaki's voice came from his mouth. All around him shadow tendrils rose up from the earth. They circled around him in a whirling maelstrom, knocking the ninja and his weapon back in opposite directions. He didn't wait for the ninja, turning and running away with enough speed to kick dirt up in his wake.

The ninja pulled himself to his feet, a throaty growl coming from behind his mask. He retrieved his weapon and started after Black Star until he heard his accomplice speak.

"Don't bother, you won't catch them like that." It was a girl's voice, crisp but still immature. She stepped out of the trees and up behind him, a needle still gripped between her fingers. "He's too fast, you'll only wear yourself out."

He looked down at her. His eyes grew dark as he growled once more.

"Oh, don't give me that," she said. "He's fast but he's still wounded. They'll have to stop soon unless she plans to absorb his soul completely. Either way, she's going to be moving a lot slower soon."

A mocking laugh came from beneath his mask. "Then I guess you'll be getting what you want," he said in a dry, raspy voice as he strode off.

She narrowed her eyes and followed after him.

 

**

 

Tsubaki felt the wind whipping against Black Star's face as he ran blindly through the woods. It was a surreal sensation, experiencing the world through a body that was not her own. She felt his heart race and his muscles tighten. Every part of his body was on fire either from exertion or the toxin slowly coursing through him.

Fear suffused her thoughts. Her every silent, instantaneous impulse that pushed him forward was backed up by the grisly reality that Black Star was dying. He was dying and all she could do was run, spur his wasting form onward in the dwindling hope that they could hide long enough to escape a more immediate end.

It was enough to make her want to retch but not to stop her. She had been taught to fight since childhood. She had studied under Death himself. She had watched her friends face impossible odds, stood shoulder to shoulder with them, and returned to tell the tale. She knew how to handle fear. Even if it did make her sick to her currently-immaterial stomach.

The travel accommodations certainly weren't helping her on that front. All around Black Star, the world blurred and warped in a way that was particularly nausea-inducing to her as she hijacked his sensorium. Whatever had been introduced into his system was beginning to affect his perception. Through his eyes the trees around them seemed to stretch higher into the sky and close in around them like some great hoard of giants. She pushed past the feeling of claustrophobia and bade his body to keep moving.

She jumped him up towards the canopy and made him reach for a branch she was only partially certain was real, feeling a swell of relief as his hand touched rough bark. He leapt through the trees as she frantically looked for a place to hide. Even through the haze of Black Star's eyes, everywhere she looked was too exposed.

He ran through a narrow passageway formed by two pillars of stone. She contemplated moving higher up onto one of the spires. The higher altitude might make it harder to reach them, but it would also make it harder to run if they were found. Plus, it could leave them more visible if their foes had some way to search from above. She had just thoroughly ruled out the option when she was overcome by the sensation of freefall.

She looked up to find branches just out of reach. Looking down proved even more distressing: the ground was gone, replaced by the tops of trees spread out far below them. The passageway had bottlenecked them and lead them right over a sheer drop down.

She reached out with her shadows, extending them like the claws of some great beast towards the cliff face. The shadows dug into rock but failed to find solid purchase. They raked down the side of the stone wall, throwing rocks and brush into the air as they followed Black Star's descent to the canopy below.

Tsubaki braced his body for impact as he made contact with the treetops. She felt the impact of the first branch hard against his upper arm, hard enough to make him drop his weapon.

In an instant their connection was gone, his sensory input replaced by the feeling of cold steel. Renewed fear gripped her thoughts as she watched his helpless form tumble down through the treetops.

She hastened to shapeshift back into her human form, ignoring the branches that buffeted against her. She dove down through the tangle of green toward Black Star. As she came up beside him, she wrapped her arms around him and twisted in the air, putting herself between him and the approaching ground.

Her ponytail, streaming through the air above her, melted like quicksilver, the hair reforming into metal links ending in a familiar curved blade. The chain wound itself around her arm as she grabbed the handle and threw the blade up into the trees. One hand gripped the expanding length of chain while the other held onto her partner for dear life.

She heard the kusarigama strike bark and felt the chain become taut, pulling hard at her arm. The swift jerk brought them to an abrupt stop in mid-air. Tsubaki looked down to find them hanging only inches from the earth. She sighed, her hair returning to its default form more from exhaustion than from any direct thought on her part, sending them both collapsing to the ground in a heap.

 _Not yet_ , she thought, struggling back to her feet, her body still aching from the fall. _Can't stop yet._

Her eyes swept over the shaded forest floor as she lifted Black Star's arm up over her shoulder. The growth here was dense, trees packed close to the cliffside. It might have even made a good spot to lie low if it wasn't for the scar down the side of the cliff that pointed right to their landing spot. Staying here now would only earn them a quicker death.

She couldn't run anymore, either. Black Star's breathing was shallow and uneven, every achingly long pause sending spikes of dread like icicles through her heart. He wouldn't survive another possession by the uncanny blade, not in this condition.

With no other options she trudged on through the dirt and the old growth, awkwardly bearing her partner's weight on her shoulders, knowing full well that death was hot on their heels.

 

**

 

There was nothing. No light, no sound, no feeling whatsoever. Just a vast sea of black emptiness. He had no memory, no identity, just the vague idea that there had been something before this. Was he wrong? Maybe this was the totality of existence?

The pain was the first thing to return, a dull ache bleeding in at the fraying edges of his consciousness. Memories followed shortly thereafter, slowly filling in vast swaths of his past but not enough to answer his questions. He fumbled through the mental haze, trying to recall what choices had led him to this sorry state.

Darkness shrouded his surroundings. His hands were only faintly visible before his face. Where on earth had he ended up?

"Black Star." A voice, dry and solemn, called out to him. "Do you remember?"

He turned and felt his eyes widen. Mifune stood before him plain as day, his face visible in spite of the overwhelming darkness.

"How?" he asked. "How are you here?" Some feeling Black Star refused to recognize as guilt flashed through his mind.

Mifune cocked his head slightly to one side. "So you don't remember?" He gripped a sword in his hand by the sheath, pointing the hilt at Black Star's chest.

"Remember what?" He looked down and saw the darkness no longer obscured his body. Deep cuts crossed his arm and his hand, red rivulets running down both of them. Suddenly it all came flooding back to him: the mission, the second attacker, the poison. He felt something tighten in his chest.

He looked up and saw Mifune's blade was now unsheathed and had been driven through the samurai's chest. More red dripped down from his wound, staining the front of his white top. He was unfazed by the blade, his face exactly as cool as it had been when he first spoke.

"Yes, you see it now," he finally responded, his brow furrowed. "Your failure. Your inability to keep your promise."

Black Star couldn't contain the anger welling up inside him. "I haven't failed anything!" he shouted. "I'm won't be beaten! Not here, not like this!"

"It's already too late," he said. The quiet fury in his eyes was more than a match for Black Star's temper. "Don't you see? We're both here because we were cut down along the warrior's path. I couldn't protect what was important to me. And now, neither can you."

He wanted to shout, to scream, to pound his fists against something until they were even more bloody, but he didn't. He was silent, caught repeating that last sentence over and over in his mind.

"What did you say?"

"When are you going to start taking things seriously?" Another voice asked. This one was familiar to him.

"Tsubaki!" he said, turning to face his partner. She stood there with that particular look of disapproval she brought out whenever he was pushing his luck just a little too far. Only this time there was something else in her expression, a hint of something darker.

"You were always treating everything like a game. Like it's some big joke!" Tears welled up in her eyes. She tilted her head down and said, "And just look at where it got us."

"Tsubaki…" He felt his anger dissipate as he looked at her. She looked so fragile standing there, so lost and hopeless. A far cry from the girl he knew, the one he had fallen in love with. More than anything right now, he wanted to comfort her, to tell her everything would be all right. He put a hand on her shoulder and said, "It'll be okay. Look, it's not too late. We can still beat these guys, you'll see."

He moved in close to her, wrapping his arms around her shivering form. She sobbed heavily into his chest. Her body seemed to shrink in his embrace, like some tiny candle flame being smothered by his breath. If he held her any tighter he felt sure she would disappear in a puff of smoke.

"You still don't get it, do you?" Mifune's words were like nails driving through his heart. "You can't do anything for her from here."

"Shut the hell up!" he shouted, turning to scowl at him.

Mifune didn't respond, his icy stare directed past him at his partner. Black Star's whole body stiffened as he felt Tsubaki begin to dissipate in his arms. He turned back to her and found his fears had come true. She was literally evaporating into smoke before his eyes. It wasn't like when she changed into her weapon form; this was like watching her rapidly fade into nothingness.

"No," he said, the words drifting from his lips almost automatically. She looked up to him one last time, that same pleading, tear-filled expression visible through the haze, before she disappeared entirely. "No, no, no!" he shouted, his hands waving impotently through the smoke.

"It's like I told you before: You didn't have proper respect for that girl," Mifune said. "And once more she's paying for your failure."

Black Star felt the anger well up inside him once more. He swung around and tried to grab for Mifune's collar but no-one was there. He looked all around through the darkness but found no-one. He was alone once more, the fury locked inside him quickly turning into something else. He told himself the tears in his eyes were just from the smoke, but even he didn't believe that. He fell to his knees, sobbing openly and screaming into the void.

"Pathetic," someone finally spoke. It wasn't a voice he recognized and yet it sounded bizarrely familiar. "You really are hopeless without her, aren't you?"

He wanted to attack this newcomer, to shout at him until his voice was hoarse. His throat was already raw from sobbing, however, and the pain winding its way through his body made the thought of just standing feel like an impossible effort. He turned his head and felt his jaw drop as he laid eyes on the speaker.

"But we already knew that, didn't we?" the newcomer, an exact copy of Black Star down to the wounds dripping blood down his arms, asked. His doppelganger stared down at him as though he were looking at a cockroach that he had spotted on his kitchen floor. It seemed like he hadn't decided yet whether or not he was going to step on him.

"There's only one Black Star, and we both know you're not him." Black Star, the real one, winced with pain as he put everything he had left into standing up to face his impostor.

The impostor chuckled darkly. "Well, you are right on one account. There is only one of us." He casually strode around Black Star, who struggled to keep his scowl focused on his double. "But we both know you're not him. You're just the loud front we put up to hide from everyone else."

"I'm not hiding from anyone!"

The impostor chuckled once more. "You're hiding from everyone. Hiding your weakness, your fear, your failure behind that foolish mask you've made for yourself. Trying to convince everyone that you're so great when you're just a loser."

"Shut up!" he cried. He felt his legs give out under him and collapsed to the floor. He gritted his teeth, the pain threatening to make him break down into another fit of sobbing. "You're not real!"

"Tsubaki pitied you, you know?" The impostor leaned in, grinning like a maniac. "She felt sorry for someone like you and look where that got her? You just ended up dragging her down with you."

Black Star could feel the tears stinging his eyes once more. Somewhere in the distance he could hear Tsubaki or whatever was left of her sobbing. He curled himself up in a fetal position, the poison robbing him of the ability to do anything but lay there continuing to quietly reject everything his doppelganger was saying to him. He still didn't truly know where he was or what was happening, but it didn't really matter: as far as he was concerned, this was hell.

 

**

 

Tsubaki felt like she had been walking for an eternity before she found it: a large rock outcropping, slate gray and dotted with greenery, with a thin cascade of water running down the side into a tiny stream. She wasn't even considering the formation as a hiding spot when she first laid eyes on it. The need for water, both for her ailing partner and herself, was her overriding concern. As she drew closer, panting and weary, she could make out a slight depression in the stone almost completely hidden behind the waterfall.

Cold, refreshing water crashed over both of them as she carried Black Star closer. What looked like a simple indentation in the rock face actually dipped slightly below the ground and carved back into the rock. It was a tight fit, barely four feet high by three feet wide. Dimensions better fit for a coffin than a refuge but it was the best hiding spot she had stumbled upon so far and, more than likely, the best hiding spot she'd find.

She crouched, laying him down carefully before venturing into the opening. She winced, feeling sharp rock dig into her temple as she brushed too close to the ceiling. It was dark inside, the light filtering through the waterfall only barely illuminating the interior. Surprisingly, the opening went back at least fifteen feet. She made her way back out and awkwardly pulled Black Star into the low cave. She bumped her head against the stone a second time backing in but resisted the urge to scream.

She was afraid to even look over her partner, afraid that closer examination would reveal that it was already too late. She pushed through the fear and felt for his pulse. It was weak, his breathing still shallow enough to send shards of ice through her chest. He was hot to the touch.

She did what she could, washing his wounds and gently pouring water down his throat. She tore strips off the end of her skirt for bandages and a compress for his head. When she was done he looked more comfortable but no further from death's door. Whatever had been introduced into his blood through those damn needles was destroying him from the inside out. It wouldn't be enough to treat the symptoms, she' need to find an antidote. Of course, without knowing the exact poison that afflicted him, finding a cure would be next to impossible.

For a second time Tsubaki resisted the urge to scream. She instead resolved to study his symptoms, hoping it would jog something in her memory. Shortness of breath, increased body temperature, weakness. As they travelled through the forest, he had muttered softly as though speaking to someone else. She heard her own name once. Was it possible he was hallucinating? Or was she just grasping at straws?

No, she thought. When she had possessed him and seen the world through his eyes it had been a blurred and distorted world. The trees had grown around him to such an extent that she had missed a sheer drop down. He was definitely hallucinating. And as they'd hurried to find this place, she swore she'd smelled something bitter in the air. Weakness, hallucinations, a bitter smell. From somewhere deep in the back of her mind a name arose.

 _-Atropa Belladonna_ , a voice, high and sweet, echoed through her memory. _Sounds pretty, doesn't it? Of course it's also known by the name-_

"Deadly Nightshade." The words rolled off her tongue like a prayer.

It was just a hunch, of course. She couldn't allow herself to be blinded with hope. Even if it was the correct poison, there was no guarantee she could even find the ingredients to craft an antidote. And doing so would leave Black Star defenseless and on the verge of death.

She looked down to her meister, her partner, her friend. A slight tremor went through his body as he struggled to take a breath. His head tilted to the right, his face contorted with pain. For as long as she had known Black Star, he had always refused to stay down. Even now he was fighting to hold on, but this was a fight he couldn't win on his own.

If she left, there was only a slight chance that she could find something to counteract the poison. In that moment, however, she realized that her only alternative was to stay and watch him die. Given both options she knew exactly what he would want her to do.

She leaned in towards him, moving the makeshift compress away briefly to plant a kiss on his forehead. "Hold on just a little longer, Black Star."

 

**

 

Ichi's fingers tightened around the grip of his weapon. The circular instrument, once punctuated by two sharp blades, now had only one opposite a short, broken edge cresting the chakram ring. The severed blade lay somewhere miles behind him along with the weapon's pair, now warped and useless. Ichi had been quite fond of the matched weapons. Now he was left with only half of one. His jaw tightened as he began to grind his teeth.

Perhaps, he thought, his anger would not have been so overwhelming were this the only setback he'd suffered. He looked up towards the cliff face hanging over him, eyes focusing on the long cut down the rock. It wasn't a natural break and it looked brand new. There was no doubt in his mind that it had been made by his quarry.

A quarry that, he reminded himself, should have been easy enough to fell and yet now led him on an exhausting chase through some god-forsaken forest with no end in sight. Oh, he had plenty of fuel to feed his rage. Not the least of which was the cheap fabric irritating the skin of his face.

He ripped the black mask off his head and scratched at the stubble across his jaw. His sunken features were dominated by the deep scar running from his right temple to his left cheek. It had been years since steel had carved his face, yet the old wound still ached at times like this. Times when all he could think of was slicing a foe to ribbons and avenging himself on a world that had taken advantage of him for far too long.

He raked a shock of white hair out of his eyes and scanned the surrounding woodland. A breeze whistled through the forest, branches rustling against one another. High above him a bird let out a shrieking cry. Some rodent skittered across the earth and up into a tree. The everyday sounds of the forest all became like white noise, his senses searching for something out of place.

A snap, clear and sharp like when a not-quite dry twig breaks in two, made by something larger than a rodent. Something large enough to do the snapping. He turned around towards the sound, looking back on a large shrub still rustling with the wind. He crept towards the shrub, his blade at the ready. Perhaps, he thought, his hunt had finally come to an end.

A smile spread across his face as he peered behind the bush. It dropped when he discovered there was no cowering victim hiding there. Instead all he found was an immature tree, barely more than a stick jutting out of the ground. He scowled as he raised his weapon high in the air, ready to take out some aggression on the young plant.

"Ichi!" a voice called out from behind him. He scowled, his weapon still held aloft. His partner, Aiko. Yet another one of the annoyances he was dealing with today.

"What?!" Ichi asked. He looked back to see her standing off in the distance, her face still hidden behind a black mask.

"Have you found them yet?" she asked, shoulders drawn back and arms crossed over her chest.

"No."

"Then get back to looking," she replied. "We've no time for your temper tantrums."

He felt his jaw tighten again. Hadn't she been the one, he thought, who'd told him not to rush after them? Clearly this exhaustive search had chipped away at her cool demeanor. He lowered his weapon and, for a moment, simply stood there, staring down the young girl.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she said and returned to searching.

He let out a low growl as he watched her wander away. Aiko was a skilled assassin, but she was also still a child: fickle and utterly infuriating. Even if their aims were the same, Ichi was starting to believe that this alliance was more trouble than it was worth.

He stormed off in the other direction, forgetting about the young tree. He didn't notice as it swayed and shook even in the absence of a breeze. He was gone when the bark and leaves began to turn black and morph into shadow. The shadows expanded out and transformed into the shape of Tsubaki, on her knees and trembling. She took a deep breath in, resisting the urge to fall to the ground and curl up into a ball.

Close. Far, far too close.

She rose up on legs like rubber, sweat dripping down from her temple. The sun was falling in the sky and their enemies were all around her searching, but she still had work to do.

She moved swiftly and quietly between the trees, staying low to the ground. Every sound put her on alert. Every movement out of the corner of her eye was a potential threat. Her every survival instinct was screaming at her to flee but she knew that wasn't an option, not without Black Star.

The search for an antidote seemed to be growing more fruitless by the second. She scoured the soil for anything remotely similar to what she needed. She dug through her memories once more for the plant.

 _It's a yellow flower,_ the same voice as before said, _but the leaves are pale, almost white. If you grind up the roots it counteracts the effects._

She sprinted towards the base of a stone spire, taking cover behind a great tree that grew up at a slight angle, its roots half-buried in the stone itself. She straightened out and leaned back against the trunk as she caught her breath. The silence all around her was terrifying, maybe more so than being face-to-face with that scarred man. There was a frightful uncertainty to it, the idea that someone could strike at her without any warning. It made her heart beat so furiously she feared it might burst out of her chest.

She waited, the silence continuing to reign in that brief moment. No-one leapt out at her. No unseen blade swung towards her. Somewhere out there her friend was still dying. She took another deep breath and kept moving.

Her hands raked through the dirt, appraising what grew at the base of the pillar. Grass, wildflowers, vines, thin reeds covered in wide, green leaves. Nothing that she could use but the variation of flora around the spire gave her hope. She crept around the stone pillar, towards another set so close that they could be mistaken for a single spire. She placed her back to the stone and made herself as flat as she could as she attempted to slip through the narrow crevice between the two pillars.

As soon as she stepped into the passageway a wave of regret washed over her. It was far too cramped in the space between the spires. As she reached the midway point she could feel cool stone pressing against her from both sides as she moved, nearly pinning her in place. She would be virtually defenseless if someone stumbled upon her at that moment. As far in as she was, though, there was no point in turning back. There was nothing she could do but push forward towards some unseen destination.

She made her first tentative step out of the passageway and felt her foot slip out from under her. A sharp half-gasp escaped her mouth as she crashed into the greenery and earth. She froze. Had someone heard her fall? Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to listen for something, anything that might herald her foes. She silently pushed herself up on her hands, trying to prepare herself for anything. She looked back to her feet, wondering what had tripped her.

Her eyes widened.

 

**

 

Black Star struggled to take a deep breath, his lungs burning with the strain. How long had he been trapped in the darkness? He had long since stopped counting hours and days. Pain was his primary unit of measurement: brief moments of intense agony rolling into extended periods of anguish, cycling over and over.

It was quiet now. The specters that had haunted him were nowhere to be seen. Now he had only his own thoughts to keep him company. He was suddenly desperate to hear Tsubaki. Even her crying would be a welcome change to the bleak thoughts that had taken root in his mind.

Somewhere far off in the distance he heard running water. He had neither the strength nor the desire to find it even though his mouth was like a desert. In this hell, which only consisted of suffering and failure, survival didn't seem worth pursuing. If he still possessed any strength, he would have used it smack himself for being so defeatist.

There was an ice cold sensation on his lips that washed over his tongue and throat. Water, crisp and refreshing, poured into his mouth as if from a pitcher. It wasn't much and the dryness in his mouth returned quickly, but in that brief moment he felt life returning to his body.

His sight turned down to look for a source but were only met with more darkness. As his eyes began to focus, however, he realized it wasn't the same unending darkness he had first been dropped in. He could make out blurred, alien shapes moving at the periphery of his vision. The reminded him of deep sea creatures or abstract patterns from some dusty old art book brought to life. The way they swirled and warped, illuminated by some distant light, filled him with unease.

His pulse quickened as these shapes came closer, their bizarre silhouettes blurring as they coalesced into a single darkened figure crossing towards him. This figure seemed to tower over him like a giant. He was acutely aware that he couldn't move as the figure hunched over him.

"Wha-" he began, his voice a dry croak that broke down into a fit of coughs. The figure leaned in close to him, placing a cold hand on his chest. It gently pressed down against his body, clearly attempting to keep him from rising but without any outward hostility. There was a comfort to the touch, delicate fingers nearly upon his flesh, only kept apart by thin fabric.

"Save your voice. We're not out of the woods yet." He recognized that voice.

"Tsu-" he said before another round of coughs.

"I said no talking," Tsubaki said, her voice soft and soothing like her touch. "I gave those two the slip but we're still in danger." As his coughing died down he felt her other hand against his chin. Another trickle of cool water poured into his mouth, soothing his ravaged throat. As the last drops ran down his tongue she placed a finger over his lips. Though his vision was blurred, he was sure that he could see her smirking. "So just zip your lip for a while, okay?"

He gave a feeble nod. She nodded back, removing her hands from his body. The sensation of her touch lingered on his skin, leaving an absence that burned through his being. He watched her dim form move away from him and towards the faint sound of rushing water. He laid there waiting for the world around him to come back into focus, praying what had happened wasn't some cruel hallucination.

Time passed. He couldn't tell exactly how much. Over and over he drifted off into a state of uneasy unconsciousness. The pain stayed with him but no longer served as his frame of reference. Instead he counted each time Tsubaki returned to his side. She would bring him more water or redress his wounds. Sometime she would just sit next to him, her gentle hand wrapped around his. Each time she returned, her face was a little easier to discern in the darkness. Each time she left, a quiet terror crept into the back of his mind as he grappled with the possibility that she wouldn't return.

As she turned once again, he found he couldn’t bear the uncertainty any longer. He summoned whatever strength he had left and reached out to grab her hand.

"Where are we?" he asked, his voice hoarse, as he held onto her for dear life.

"Twenty, maybe twenty-five kilometers from where we were attacked. I'm not sure exactly, I was running too fast to keep track." She swung back around to face him, her mouth curled into a lopsided smile. "Well, I guess technically you were running. I found a cave for us to hide in."

"Oh," he said as she gently placed his hand over his chest. His gaze swept over the low rock ceiling hanging above them. "I was wondering what that was."

"I haven't heard anything from Azusa or the Academy," she said, her voice sober. "I don't know if anybody's coming for us."

Black Star remembered the explosion he had seen from the trees. Could he have done anything to save Azusa? He felt the weight of her death on his chest like a planet pressing down. The words of Mifune and his doppelganger from what he prayed had only been some terrible fever dream echoed through his mind. He thought about Tsubaki evaporating away in his arms. His stomach twisted into knots. He pushed past the pain, a grim determination rising up in him.

"Then it's all on us," he said, struggling to push himself up.

Tsubaki frowned. "What do you think you're doing?"

"We need to get out of here," he said. He still wasn't upright as he extended a hand to her. "C'mon, transform."

"Just look at yourself," she said, her voice stern. "You're in no position to fight."

"Wasn't planning to fight," he said, still reaching out to her with one shaky arm. "You just need to possess me until we reach the edge of the forest. You should be able to get help from there."

She bowed her head as he spoke, her eyes hidden behind her bangs. "No. Absolutely not."

He frowned. "Look, I'm not thrilled about this either but you need-"

"I won't do it." She didn't shout. She didn't need to; there was an intensity behind her words that couldn't be missed. Her eyes met his with a look that could have challenged the Kishin to a fight. "I would never have done it if you weren't about to die and I won't do it while you're like this."

Black Star's arm fell to his side but he wasn't prepared to let this go. He bared his teeth as he said, "I can't fight like this. We won't survive if they find us, you know that. We need to run for it while we can."

"You'll die." Her voice was impersonal, like she was giving a report. "If I possess you in this condition, you will die. _I won't be the one who kills you."_

"Well, it's still better than sitting here waiting to die!"

Tsubaki fell on him swiftly. One hand was over his mouth, the other braced against his chest. He felt his body tense up as she looked down at him. There was something unfamiliar in her unflinching gaze, something he had never seen before. Was it disgust?

"What is wrong with you?" she asked. "The Black Star I know wouldn't give up without a fight. He wouldn't just throw his life away because he was afraid."

He looked away, unable to meet her stare. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see her expression soften but only slightly.

"We're going to get through this, alright?" she said. "We stay hidden until we're recovered. We survive long enough us to avenge out comrades and stop those two from ever hurting anyone else. And whatever happens, we do it together."

The splash of the waterfall echoed through the silence between them. Black Star didn't speak. His throat was too raw after shouting. Besides he didn't have any more to say to her.

She pulled away from him, taking her hand off his mouth as she looked to the cave's mouth. Her other hand remained gently resting on his chest. Even in their current standoff, her touch was warm and comforting.

"I'm," he began before he felt his throat tighten and the words catch in his mouth. She didn't turn to him, her gaze still fixed on the barest hint of moonlight that shone through the waterfall. If she had heard him, she didn't respond. He fought back a cough and tried get her attention once more. "I'm not-"

She was on him before he could say anymore. Her hand clasped over his mouth but this time she had more than her hand on his chest; her entire body was now forced up against his. Under different circumstances he might have enjoyed the position but the severe face Tsubaki wore made him uneasy. Her heartbeat was racing but her breathing was virtually nonexistent. Her eyes, wide and wild, looked from his off to the side, drawing his gaze out of the cave's mouth.

That was when he heard it: the rhythmic sloshing of footsteps through water, the unmistakable sound of someone drawing closer. He felt his pulse quicken. His mind raced with the desire to fight, or run, or do _anything_ rather than lie there motionless like a wounded antelope surrounded by lions, but his body was crippled by pain and fatigue, to say nothing of his partner sprawled out on top of him. He was trapped, left waiting to see what their pursuer would do next.

The sloshing grew closer and then fell silent. He held his breath, listening intently for another sound over the splash of running water. He shivered as he felt cold metal brush against his side. Tsubaki brought up one hand, a lustrous throwing star gripped tightly between her fore and middle fingers. She turned towards the entrance, ready to throw the shuriken at anything that dared to step into the cave.

There was a low, guttural sound from outside, like the snarl of a predatory animal. He felt a tremor go through his body. He genuinely wasn't sure whether to attribute the shaking to Tsubaki or to himself. A minute of tense silence finally gave was to more sloshing footsteps, the sound growing more distant with each step until it was completely enveloped by the roar of the waterfall.

Minutes after the footsteps had disappeared entirely, Tsubaki and Black Star remained frozen like statues, afraid to make the slightest sound. Black Star's body ached but he still wouldn't move an inch. He waited until Tsubaki palmed the throwing star before exhaling with a sigh. He felt her muscles relax as her head collapsed against his shoulder. He felt a weakness creep through him that had nothing to do with any poison.

"I'm not afraid," he said at last, his voice hushed. Tsubaki tilted her head up to look at him. "I'm not afraid of anything except losing you."

Even in the darkness of their refuge he could see tears form in her eyes. "Just shut up, you idiot," she said.

"I swore that I'd follow the path of the warrior even if it cost me my life," he continued, undeterred by her words. "I'm still prepared to die, but I won't let you get lost on this path. Not if I can help it."

"You don't get to decide who I'm willing to give my life up for," she said, her voice louder than it should have been. She pulled herself up until she was at eye level with him. "You're not the only one who's prepared to die on this path."

"You shouldn't have to die because I wasn't strong enough," he said, his throat aching but his heart resolute. "Why can't you just let me protect you?"

She lunged for him once again. It wasn't her hand that was covering his mouth this time though. Her lips locked around his passionately, her kiss urging him closer before he could even realize it. In an instant his mind went blank, all his other fears and frustrations erased in this moment as she clasped her hands to the sides of his face. He felt his heart race for an entirely new reason.

Her mouth pulled away from him with an audible smack, leaving another absence deep inside him. She still held his face in her hands as she looked down at him with her brow furrowed.

"Because I love you, you moron."

He was dumbfounded, blinking slowly as his brain tried to work its way back to his previous train of thought. "I… that's… you…" He was still having trouble with more than one word at a time. He shut his eyes tight, his head still spinning. "No fair, Tsubaki. I'm trying to tell you how much you mean to me and you have to go and upstage me. Acting all cool and dramatic. How am I supposed to top that?"

She smiled. It didn't look like she wanted to. Perhaps she couldn't help herself? "Tough luck, dummy."

He sighed. His head was still spinning and his limbs felt like jelly. As much as he hated to admit it, his partner was right. He couldn't handle a declaration of love in his current state, much less an enemy attack. He closed his eyes as his head tilted back against the cave floor.

"Black Star," he heard her say, voice full of concern. "Black Star, get up."

"M'fine," he said. At least that's what he thought he said, his voice was a little muffled in his ears. "I'm just a little sleeping now," was not remotely what he thought he said next but it was what he heard himself say as he felt his consciousness ebbing away.

 _It's fine_ , he thought to himself. _Tsubaki will take care of whatever I was so upset about_.

 

**

 

It was a high, sharp cry somewhere in the distance that first made Tsubaki's eyes flash open. Awakening in an enclosed, unfamiliar location caused primal fear to take hold of her even before she remembered her situation. The damp cave was still dark even as the first rays of sunlight filtered inside through the waterfall. Her eyes darted around the room, but she didn't see their pursuers. As the immediate fear of danger died away, she realized that she didn't see _anyone._ Dread set in as she frantically scanned her surroundings only to realize she hadn't been mistaken. Black Star was gone.

She scrambled to the mouth of the cave and carefully peeked out past the waterfall that obscured the entrance. The clearing outside looked completely different in the early light of morning. The stone outcropping that stretched high above her cast a great shadow over the land, protecting it from the heat of the sun. The trees along the bank of the stream swayed gently in the breeze. It seemed almost too idyllic and peaceful to be the scene of such life-threatening danger.

Looking out over the clearing she saw no flash of blue hair, no sign of her partner. She didn't dare call out for him lest she attract unwanted attention. In that moment it seemed she had no choice but to venture out into the forest and search for him herself.

She hadn't even finished considering all the reasons this was an incredibly dangerous prospect when she saw movement through the trees. She ducked back behind the waterfall, unable to risk being discovered by their enemies. With a flick of her wrist she had a shuriken in her hand. Through the cascade of water she could see a figure moving out of the trees and in her direction.

Adrenaline flooded her system as she contemplated her options. It could have just been her partner returning to the hideout, but what if it wasn't? If their pursuers were here she might be able to hide again, but what if they knew where to look this time? She couldn't afford to be discovered, not if Black Star was out there somewhere on his own.

The figure began to move through the water, splashing footsteps invoking memories from the night before. Behind him she swore she saw a shadow rustling through the trees. It was too late for deliberation. They were coming for her and if she didn't act now she was as good as dead.

The shuriken was flying out of her hand before she had even leapt out from behind the waterfall. She didn't even see who she had struck until the star was already lodged in his upper arm. She stopped dead in her tracks. Black Star stood before her, desperately attempting to keep from shouting out in anguish as pain no-doubt shot through his arm.

"Just," he said, his voice strained, "why?" Behind him a fox scurried out of the woods to the bank of the stream.

She covered her mouth, desperately reminding herself that this wasn't funny and she most certainly had no reason to laugh in light of their situation. "I'm so sorry, I thought you were one of them."

He grimaced as he hefted a limp rabbit in his other hand. "And after I caught breakfast and everything."

She must have apologized to him about a hundred times more as they cooked breakfast.

"I already told you it's fine," he said as she attempted to bandage his arm. "It's going to take a lot more than that to take me down."

"You've got no business playing it tough," she replied. "You fainted the last time I saw you."

"The Great Black Star does not faint! I must have just passed out or something," he said, his face bright red.

Not far from their spot on the stream back, the fox that had followed him out of the woods hungrily eyed their rabbit. Black Star waved the varmint off and caught a look at his arm, still bandaged with the fabric Tsubaki had torn from her skirt.

"Man, I really was out of it," he said. "That must have been some serious stuff they were using if it could knock someone as great as me out."

"Deadly nightshade," she said as she finished wrapping another strip of fabric around his arm. He shot her a quizzical look. "That's what you were poisoned with. And trust me, it could have done a lot worse than just knock you out."

He smiled at her. "Then I guess I have you to thank that I'm not dead."

"You're welcome." She smiled back sheepishly. "We're both lucky, honestly. I wasn't sure I'd find something to counteract the poison around here. And the way I finally found the plant..." She sighed. "I don't want to think about what might have happened if I hadn't tripped over that log."

He blinked and said, "I didn't realize you knew so much about poisons. Where'd you learn all this stuff?"

"I," she began but trailed off for a moment. "When I was a child, before I figured out I was a weapon, I studied to be an assassin."

"Like me?" he asked, pointing at himself.

She smirked. "There's no assassin like you, Black Star." As he beamed, she continued. "My clan knew all kinds of assassination techniques, even those of us who hadn't inherited the ability to transform. My cousin studied poisons and what kind of plants could be used to make them. While I was growing up, she always used to tell me about them."

"I guess we're just lucky you're better at paying attention than I am." He tore a leg off his catch and handed it to her. "Here, eat up. We've got a long way ahead of us and you're going to need your strength."

She took what he offered and ravenously bit into it. She wasn't particularly fond of wild game, but her hunger was overwhelming at this point. "Are you sure you're ready to move?" she asked between bites.

"I should be fine now, thanks to you and your cousin," he said as he tore off another leg for himself. He'd barely removed it before that same fox reappeared and snatched the leg out of his hand, running off with it's pilfered prize. He groaned angrily as Tsubaki once again struggled not to laugh.

They finished eating quickly and began the long trek through the woods. They didn't bother heading for the original rendezvous point. It was too risky to travel back the way they had come, especially since they had no way of knowing if anyone would be waiting for them there. Tsubaki estimated that the fastest way back to civilization was to keep moving west until they hit a village or, with any luck, a city.

They travelled silently through dense clusters of tree trunks, sticking close to the massive spires that dominated the skyline whenever they could. Black Star may have been well enough to travel but neither of them were particularly interested in testing his fighting capabilities so soon after his recovery. For now, the less attention they could attract, the better.

Tsubaki took the lead in spite of her partner's protests. Black Star certainly had impressive hearing and sight, but he was also prone to running headfirst into danger, a risk they couldn't afford to take now. She also wanted to keep them moving at an even pace, sprinting only when they needed to move quickly across open ground.

Though he insisted he was in fine shape to travel, they had only traveled a few kilometers before she noticed he was lagging behind.

"Are you alright?" she asked, sweeping back towards him. "Do you need to rest?"

"What?" he asked, his face incredulous yet drawn. "Don't be ridiculous, Tsubaki. The Great Black Star has no need to stop. Why, I'm strong enough to push that giant boulder in Hades all the way up the hill and chuck it in Sassafras' stupid face."

"It's Sisyphus," she said with a slight frown.

"Whatever. Look, I'm perfectly fine," he said just before he fell over. Tsubaki managed to catch him in her arms before he hit the ground.

"You're burning up," she said, propping one of his arms up over her shoulders. “You need to sit down."

He just shook his head over and over. "We can't stop, we've got to keep going. Just a little while longer and we'll be fine."

"Don't get stubborn with me," she said, guiding him towards one of the larger trees she could see. "We won't make it out of here if you waste everything you've got all at once."

She set him down against the trunk, his chest heaving as sweat poured down his face. She sat down next to him, wrapping one arm around his shoulders as she brought her other hand up to rest on his forehead.

He looked up at her with a wry smile. "Pretty pathetic, isn't it? I'm not exactly living up to the war god title right now."

"Hey, knock it off with that. You almost died last night, yet here you are, still pushing forward. There's nothing pathetic about that." Her eyes seemed to sparkle, a sweet smile crossing her face as she added, "Besides, I thought you were proud to be a human?"

A slight chuckle escaped his lips. "I think I could do without the pain part." She giggled back at him. For a brief moment neither of them said anything. As they looked into each other's eyes they both felt a strong sense of contentment even in the midst of their current plight. It was comfort enough in that moment to know that they were both still alive and together.

"Hey Tsubaki," he said. "Did something happen last night?"

Her head tilted to the side. "What do you mean?"

"I can remember some of what happened after you possessed me but it's all jumbled and so much of it doesn't seem possible. Like I imagined it or something." He thought about his encounter with Mifune, his conversation with himself, and something she told him that might have sounded too good to be true. "I was just wondering if you said anything to me while I was out of it."

"Oh," she said, butterflies rapidly welling up in her stomach. Her mind raced as her anxieties grappled with another strong feeling.

"So what did happen last night?" he asked.

"Hmm?" she said as though snapping out of a trance. "Oh, nothing. You talked a bit while you were asleep, that's all."

Black Star scrutinized his tight-lipped partner. "Are you sure?"

"You had a rough night and you're still not back to full health," she said softly. "Don't think about it. We don't need any distractions right now." She smiled down at him, but something about it seemed insincere to him.

He nodded anyway. "Yeah. Yeah I guess you're-" He stopped as he heard a rustling through the undergrowth. He tried to rise into a defensive stance but Tsubaki's arm tightened around his chest, holding him down. She seemed to produce a kunai from thin air and pointed it in a reverse-grip towards the bushes.

They both watched with bated breath as the tiny orange fox shuffled its way out of the greenery. Tsubaki breathed a sigh of relief, her weapon vanishing with a flex of her hand.

"Get lost, you annoying little pest," Black Star said to the fox. The beast responded with an opened-mouth hiss before scurrying off. He tried to rise back to his feet but found someone still holding him in place. "Uh, you can low go of me now."

"Oh. Right," Tsubaki replied. She felt somewhat reluctant to end the embrace. "Sorry."

As they continued onward they seemed to fall into a pattern: the pair would cover as much ground as they could until they would have to stop for a brief respite. With every iteration of the cycle, though, they seemed to traverse less ground yet rest for longer. It was obvious to Tsubaki that her partner wasn't ready for this journey. It was too soon after the poison for him to be travelling anywhere, let alone through overgrown, off-road terrain at such a feverish pace.

Yet Black Star wouldn't be dissuaded. She knew that, for him, getting them out of danger was as important as proving he could still keep moving. It was in his nature to never stop, to always show that he had the strength to go on. It was an admirable trait, one of the reasons she loved him, but she also knew that if he didn't reign that fervor in here and now it might get him killed.

They dashed across open land towards a gnarled tree at the head of a small grove. As they cleared the knotted trunk, she could see him begin to flag once more. She slowed until she moving alongside him. She slipped her arm around him and he wearily slumped against her, allowing her to support his weight without objection.

"Come on," she said, looking back towards the warped tree. "We should be able to hide here for a while."

"Wait," he said, pointing ahead of them. "What is that?"

She followed his finger through the ancient trees to a ramshackle wooden cabin that looked even older. The weathered shack was covered in loose boards. Its frame had been made crooked by two huge trees that seemed to have grown directly into the structure. In the distance, the trees resembled massive arms frozen in place moments before they could completely crush the cabin between wooden hands.

"Well, it's definitely abandoned," Black Star said. "Might actually make a good hiding place if it doesn't collapse on us as soon as we get inside."

"I suppose we should at least take a look," Tsubaki said as they drew closer. "Let's be careful though."

"Careful?" he asked. "I feel like I'm gonna get tetanus just looking at this place."

The time-worn wooden boards of the front steps creaked beneath their feet. They had scarcely made it onto the porch when the front door swung open. They both flinch, nearly tumbling back down the steps. Standing before them was an ancient woman dressed in earthen tones, hunched over on a walking stick bent like some segmented insect's leg. She scowled at the two of them.

"Zǒu kāi! Zǒu kāi!" the woman shouted. She stood up straight, her full height still rather short, and brandished the grotesque-looking cane at them. "Háizimen zǒu kāi."

Black Star leaned away from the angry woman. "What the hell is she saying?"

"I think," Tsubaki began, her brow furrowing as she brought a hand up to her chin. She didn't bother to finish the sentence, instead responding directly to the woman with, "Nǐ hǎo. Wumen xūyào bānzhù."

The woman frowned. "Your Mandarin is terrible."

Tsubaki blinked. "You speak English?"

"Could have led off with that," Black Star said under his breath.

"Leave!" she shouted, poking her cane against his chest. "Stupid children leave now. This is no place for tourists."

"We're not tourists," he said. "And stop poking me with that thing!"

"Please," Tsubaki said. "We're in danger. We need your help."

The woman scrutinized the two of them for a moment. Her eyes flashed past them as she scanned the forest.

"Danger?" she asked, her tone incredulous. "I see no danger here, just some idiot girl wandering through the woods half-naked."

Tsubaki looked down. Her dress had gotten a lot shorter since they'd started out yesterday but it was hardly what she would call immodest. She brushed off the jab and said, "I'm serious. My friend was poisoned and there are two people out there hunting us. We need a place to hide."

The woman laughed. "That's one hell of a story, but I am no fool. More likely you and your boyfriend here are just looking for someplace to bed down."

"Do we look like we're out here for fun?" Tsubaki felt anger rise up. "We're telling you the truth, there is someone out here trying to kill us. Now will you help us or not?"

The woman looked up at her with a scowl. "Oi! Don't you take that tone with me, you young hussy!"

"Hussy?!" Tsubaki shouted back, her face growing red. She looked like she was ready to strangle the old woman right on her porch.

"Woah! Let's just step back for a second." Black Star said, awkwardly trying to place himself between the two of them. "Look, nobody wants to shout about this more than me, but I'm about to collapse on your steps and we could be drawing a lot of attention right now. Why don't we just take this inside? By the time you've decided to kick us out I'll probably be rested enough to leave anyway."

Tsubaki just stared at him, genuinely surprised to see her partner try to defuse conflict rather than exacerbate it. The old woman examined him as though trying to read his intentions. She looked the pair up and down one last time before sighing.

"Alright, fine. You two can stay for the day." Her face became stern as she said, "But I'm not running a charity! If you're going to be lying around the whole time, your friend will have to help me clean up around here, understood?"

"Fine," Tsubaki said through gritted teeth.

"And if you're going to be staying in my home," the woman said, "I won't have you dressing like that."

 

**

 

The old woman, who grudgingly introduced herself as Daji, didn't have much variation in her wardrobe. All of her clothes were very traditional garments cut in a style that would have been fashionable a few thousand years ago. Tsubaki decided on an outfit consisting of a cross-collar top in olive green with a long, black skirt secured at the waist by a sash.

The interior of the cabin was a stark contrast to the ancient, dilapidated exterior. The boards that made up the floors and ceiling all looked lovingly maintained. It was hard to tell if the same was true for the walls, as every square inch of space was covered in scrolls, tapestries, paintings, and shelves overflowing with various knick-knacks and curios. She was tempted to think their host was a hoarder, but there was an odd sense of order to the arrangement, as though each piece had been personally curated.

As she walked out into the foyer, Daji was waiting for her with crossed arms. "Well, that's a start. You can at least look presentable if you're going to be staying here." Tsubaki forced a smile as she mentally filed away another grievance against this woman. "Go ahead and check on your friend. Don't bother getting too cozy, though. I've got a list of things that need cleaning. Somewhere around here." With that she wandered off, muttering something under her breath.

Tsubaki took her advice, wandering back down the hallway to the last door on the left. _There certainly are a lot of rooms for such a small-looking cottage_ , she thought to herself as she opened the door to see Black Star stretched out on a rather large bed.

"I don't know what this thing is made of," he said, rolling his neck back, "but we've got to ask that crazy old lady where she got it from."

"I'm not surprised that such a rude person is living out here in seclusion," she said as she slumped down on the edge of the mattress. She looked over to see Black Star had inclined his head towards her, a grin on his face. "What?"

He chuckled. "Nothing, nothing. It's just weird to see you getting riled up so easily."

"I'm in no mood to humor anyone today," she said. "Especially some old windbag."

"Well, lucky for you," he said, "I'm always so easy to get along with."

Tsubaki covered her mouth as she began to snicker quietly. Her laughter steadily built in intensity in spite of her efforts to suppress it. She rolled back over the bed, falling onto Black Star's legs as she broke out into fits of giggling. Her partner looked on in confusion.

"Hey, it wasn't that funny," he said. "I mean, it wasn't even a joke. Was it?"

"I'm sorry," she said, gasping between fits of cackling. "I swear I can't help it."

His crossed his arms. A sour expression crossed his face as he said, "I'm not _that_ bad."

She wiped a tear from her eyes as she stifled the last of her laughter. She turned onto her side, propping herself up with one arm. It took a fair bit of effort on her part not to break out into giggling once more as she looked at his pouting face.

"Black Star, you are loud, impulsive, and impossibly frustrating," she said, smiling the whole time. "And there's no-one else out there who I'd rather be paired with."

"Well, of course not," he said, attempting to puff out his chest from his recumbent position. "There's no one else as strong as the great Me."

"Not what I meant, Star." The same amused smile lingered on her face as she rolled off his legs, resting her head on her hands as she closed her eyes. She knew she should be off to see what Daji had wanted help with but she tarried there longer, enjoying her first genuine moment of peace since they had disembarked into the forest the day before.

She felt her partner reposition himself on the bed. She didn't think much of it, assuming he was just getting up for a drink of water, until she heard his voice coming from right above her.

"Well what did you mean?"

She opened one eye to see him kneeling next to her, looking down on her with an expression of genuine curiosity. There was an innocence in his eyes that reminded her of when Angela asked her big questions, like why was the sky blue and what happened to the dinosaurs. He wasn't suspicious or probing for some hidden meaning in her words; he simply wanted to know why.

"W-what?" she asked, caught a little off-guard by the question.

"Why do you want to be stuck with me when I'm…" he trailed off. "You know, all that stuff you said."

Her eyes turned away from him. "What are you saying? You know why."

He shook his head. "No, I don't."

"Well," she said, "because you're always honest. You never try to change who you are to fit in. You believe in yourself and that's all that matters. It's admirable. I think I kind of wish I could be more like that."

He leaned in closer, his eyes still full of that same curious hunger. "Are you sure there isn't any other reason?"

She could feel the mood between them changing rapidly. The butterflies in her stomach were back and threatening to start ballroom dancing. "I mean, of course there is. You're my friend. I care about you, I trust you. Does there need to be any other reason?"

"No," he said, "I just had this feeling that you wanted to tell me something."

She stared up into his piercing eyes, his lips hanging tantalizingly close to hers. Her hair stood on end with unspoken anticipation. Every rational argument that had convinced her not to give into desire was being overwhelmed by the urge to taste those lips once more. She felt herself drawing incrementally closer and closer, her mouth puckering almost instinctively as his head inclined towards hers.

A loud crash from the other room made them both turn away from each other.

"What was that?" she asked as he pulled himself up. She rose up off the bed and turned her attention to the door. With no windows in the room, it was their only means of escape if they had been discovered. It could also lead them right into another fight. She looked to Black Star. He nodded and extended a hand to her. She took a deep breath and let herself unravel into shadow.

She reformed into cold steel in her partner's hand. Black Star crept towards the door. He put one ear to the exit, listening carefully for any sounds coming from the hallway before he pulled the door open. There was no-one dressed in black standing there and no old woman shuffling through the hall. He stepped out of the bedroom, heart pounding as he made his way towards the foyer.

He was still in the hallway when he saw Daji crumpled into a heap on the foyer floor.

"Old lady!" he shouted, rounding a corner into the room.

"Black Star, on your right!" Tsubaki shouted as a figure in black appeared from around the corner and thrust sharp steel towards them. Black Star swung around and brought his katana up to knock the blade out of its path a fraction of a second before it could pierce him. The ninja, the one she had heard called Ichi, let out a frustrated roar and swung the blade up towards his head.

Black Star parried the wild attack and stepped away from his foe only to bump against a shelf protruding from the wall. Porcelain knick knacks and incense holders fell at his feet, shattering to pieces as Ichi lunged for him. His third swing connected with incredible force, the clash of steel ringing out through the surrounding forest. Black Star could feel his own weapon being slowly pushed away as his foe attempted to reach a soft place to cut open.

Two tendrils of shadow peeled off from Black Star's scarf and curved up over his shoulders. Ichi's eyes flashed up towards the tendrils. He leapt back just as they shot out towards him, intersecting at a point where he had been standing only seconds ago. He skidded to a halt on the other side of the room.

Black Star pushed himself off the wall. "Nice save, Tsubaki," he said as he looked towards Ichi. "You made a big mistake coming after us, pal. You might have lived if you had spent the rest of your life running away but now you're toast."

"Black Star, we can't stay here," Tsubaki said, her voice low. "We need to get out of this."

He frowned as his gaze shifted from his opponent to the old woman on the floor and back. He tightened his grip around his partner as he took a step to the side.

The sound of glass breaking rang out from behind him. Black Star dove to the ground as a trio of needles flew through the window and embedded in the opposite wall. He saw Ichi charge for him, passing Daji's body as he did. Rising into a crouch, Black Star took a deep breath as he slowly leveled his sword towards the ninja.

"Tsubaki," he said, his eyes narrowed. "Make us an exit."

"Right!" she said. His scarf stretched forward and spiraled out before him as though winding around some great, unseen drill. As it rotated faster it seemed to melt into a black blur that reformed into a lithe, humanoid shape. Hands like obsidian flicked open to reveal fingertips like ice picks. Sharp, curved horns rose out of a wild mane of hair. Piercing eyes opened above a mouth baring elongated fangs. The shadow figure looked like some demoness out of ancient myth hanging in the air before him.

She let out a savage cry and flew forward with her claws bared, Black Star following along in her wake. Ichi didn't falter in the face of this threat; he leaned forward and lowered his body mid-sprint in an effort to dodge past her towards his target. The demoness sunk closer to the ground and raked her claws through the air. Obsidian talons found purchase in flesh, streaking across his chest as he swerved out of a head-on collision. Little trails of crimson flew forth from the cuts in his clothes.

Ichi would not be deterred, continuing past her in spite of his wounds. He swung his blade out towards Black Star as they passed. Black Star brought his katana up but was unable to avoid catching the blade across his left shoulder. He screamed as steel bit into his skin but didn't stop moving. He dipped down and picked up Daji as he continued to run towards the far wall of the cabin. The demoness ripped through the wall with her claws, leaving a ragged opening. Black Star leapt through the hole and sailed through the air before rolling to an awkward landing in the underbrush surrounding the cabin.

"Are you alright?" Tsubaki asked as the demoness dissipated, leaving behind only the scarf that had created it. "What about her?"

Black Star couldn't find a pulse on the old woman. His face contorted with anguish. He wanted to cry out with fury and charge headlong into his enemies, to take his frustrations out on them, but knew that he couldn't. He knew what was coming and that he would only have one chance to stop it.

He steadied his breathing and composed himself as he rose to his feet. He listened closely to the world around him, patiently waiting for his cue. Beneath the wind whistling through the trees and frenzied bird calls he could hear it: a faint, rhythmic tapping like someone knocking on wood high above him. He heard the last knock, then the rush of wind as something fell through the air, then his partner's voice calling out a warning to him. He remained steadfast, waiting until he could feel the presence behind him before he made his move.

Black Star took a step back, pivoting to the right and just barely evading a poison-tipped needle. His attacker seemed frozen with surprise, eyes wide and arm extended out in front of him.

"Not this time," he said before he drove his fist right into her outstretched arm.

An audible pop sounded as he struck her elbow. She screamed, dropping the needle to the ground. Black Star turned to face her, his stance widening as he pulled back his fist. As he struck out at her, his fist was loaded with the full force of his soul wavelength. She quickly leaned away in a desperate bid to avoid the finishing blow. His hand didn't strike her body but it did catch the corner of her mask. The shock wave from the blow shot through the mask and across her entire body. Even an indirect hit was enough to send her flying backwards. She crashed into the side of the cabin, leaving a slight depression in the wall before falling to the ground.

"Don't know if I have another one of those in me," he said between labored breaths. Bits of black fabric, the remnants of his foe's mask, floated down to the earth. His eyes followed the trail of tatters to his unmasked foe. She looked young, maybe even younger than himself. Short, black hair framed a thin face that epitomized fury. He thought there was something almost familiar in her wan, delicate features, but he couldn't put a name to her face.

Tsubaki, on the other hand, recognized that face all too well; she had known it for years, nearly all her life. Memories seemed to wash over her as she looked at the girl.

 

**

 

"Tsubaki?" the little girl asked her with a boisterous energy. "Like the flowers? That's such a pretty name!"

It was years ago at some family function Tsubaki could scarcely recall. This brief moment, though, stood out clearly in her memories. She was very young, only about a year older than the little girl before her. She was shy, too, not used to so much attention.

"T-thank you," Tsubaki said, looking down at her feet. "You're very kind."

"No seriously! I want my name to be a flower!" She waved her arms at her sides as though trying to emphasize her point before adding, "Ooh! Wait here!"

She ran off into a crowd of adults, leaving a young Tsubaki very confused. When she came back moments later she was carrying a book almost as big as she was. She opened the book to a page full of glossy photographs, each one displaying purple, bell-shaped flowers.

"See, right here!" she said, pointing at one of the photos. "This is the one I'd want to be named after. It's called Atropa Belladonna. Sounds pretty, doesn't it? Of course it's also known by the name Deadly Nightshade. It's super dangerous, even just a little bit of it will kill someone. Cool, huh?"

"Wow," Tsubaki said, her eyes wide. She hadn't been particularly interested in the killing potential of the flower but she remembered being very impressed by the girl's knowledge and enthusiasm.

"I'm Aiko!" she said, smiling. "Pleased to meet you!"

 

**

 

"Woah," Aiko said, her mouth hanging open. She watched, enrapt, as Tsubaki's hand change into a curved, gleaming blade. "That's amazing!"

Tsubaki smiled at her as her hand shifted back to flesh. She was older now yet still a child. They weren't far from Tsubaki's home, sitting atop a low hill in the shade of a large tree.

"So what else can you turn into?" Aiko asked. "What about a shuriken? A dagger? Ooh, a kanabo!"

Tsubaki's face grew contemplative for a moment before she said, "I don't think I'd be able to turn into a club. Sorry Aiko."

"Boo," Aiko said, making a pouty face.

She giggled at her cousin's feigned disappointment.  "My parents say I should be to transform into all the weapons in our family line." She paused before adding, "Well, all except one."

"Oh yeah," Aiko said. She rested her face in her palms. "Man, you're so lucky Tsubaki. Your brother's so cool and you get powers just like him!"

Tsubaki hadn't felt lucky; at the time, she felt like her world had been turned upside-down, as though she had stolen her brother's birthright. Did Masamune hate her? He'd never said as such to her but his sullen nature of late filled her with a nebulous, sinking feeling that she could only attribute to guilt.

Aiko sighed. "I wish Masamune would show me his powers. He's been so closed off recently."

Tsubaki pushed away these thoughts. She didn't want to upset Aiko, not over something she was sure was merely a temporary thing. "Don't worry. I'm sure he'll be feeling better soon, you'll see."

 

**

 

"Don't blow me off like that," Aiko, now a teenager, said to her. She stood before Tsubaki in a darkened hallway of her home, glaring. "I may not be in your stupid club but I deserve a straight answer. Masamune's missing, we should be looking for him, but instead you're going to some school in America?"

Tsubaki gave her a stern look. "I'm going to find him, Aiko, but this is the only way I can do that. The DWMA is already searching for him and they'll give me all the information they have but only if I work with them."

"Listen to yourself," Aiko said. "Teaming up with the authorities? With the Grim Reaper? You're talking about hunting him down like he's some kind of animal!"

"You didn't see him." Her voice was quiet but there was a power behind her words. "I know how you feel right now. You want to help him but you have to understand he's not the Masamune you remember. He's changed."

Aiko looked down, fists tight at her side. For a moment she didn't speak, as though she didn't know how to respond. "Yeah, what would I know about him anymore?" she asked at last before brushing past her.

"This isn't any easier for me," Tsubaki said, turning back to her with a hurt expression. "Aiko, I still care about him too."

"Are you really going to fight him?" Aiko stopped but didn't turn to face her. "Are you really going to kill him?"

Tsubaki remembered a familiar feeling welling up in her heart. This wasn't the same as her misplaced sense of guilt, though; this was a feeling of obligation, the realization that she had to be the one to stop him. "If I have to, yes."

 

**

 

"Aiko." Tsubaki's voice trembled as she spoke the name of her old friend who now stared at her from across the battlefield with such hatred, such contempt. It was hard for her to reconcile, the idea that the bright, cheerful girl she once knew and the assassin who sought to take their lives were one and the same. At the same time it all felt sickeningly familiar; on some level she could map out the dark path that had led them all to this moment. In her shock and confusion, however, she couldn't stop herself from asking, "Why?"

Aiko grimaced as she forced herself back to her feet. She leaned against the cabin wall, cradling her broken arm. All the while she hadn't stopped staring daggers at them. "You have the nerve to ask that?" she spat back. "Don't you dare try to play the victim with me, not after what you did to Masamune."

"Masamune?" Black Star asked. "Your brother? Tsubaki, who is that?"

"She's my cousin." The words almost stuck in her throat. "The one I was telling you about."

His eyebrows looked like they might spring off his forehead. "What?! What the hell is she doing trying to kill us?"

"I'm here for revenge, you monster!" Aiko shouted, brandishing a needle at them. "You murdered Masamune and I won't stop until I make you both pay!"

"Aiko, listen to me!" Tsubaki cried. "I had no choice, I had to stop him."

She sneered at them. "Don't give me that! We could have looked for him together, we could have come to him as family. You made your choice to hunt him down like he was already lost to us!"

"He was killing people Aiko!" Tsubaki dialed back her frustration as she continued, "I know you don't want to believe it but he was already lost to us."

"Always so righteous, aren't you?" she asked in a mocking tone. "After all, it's not like you had anything to gain from his death, right cousin?"

"What?" Tsubaki asked.

Black Star heard the whoosh of steel swinging behind him and spun around just in time to deflect a powerful overhead strike. Ichi had removed his mask, his scarred face glowering down at them from beneath a mop of white hair.

"The Uncanny Blade wasn't one of your forms, remember?" Aiko said as she dropped into a fighting stance. "Is that why Masamune was so scared the last time I saw him? Did he already know you were plotting to kill him for his powers?"

"No!" Tsubaki cried. "Aiko, I swear to you I never wanted this!"

"You expect me to believe that now?" Aiko shot back. "Save your lies for someone else!"

Ichi launched into a frenzied assault as though possessed of some wild, destructive force. Black Star deflected a pair of swings aimed at his chest but was too slow to stop a quick stab towards his face. He tilted his head away from the attack but still caught the edge of the blade along his temple, wincing as steel grazed his skin. He knocked the weapon away from his head before it could do more damage.

"You're pathetic, you know that?" Aiko said as she began to circle around them. Black Star was already focused on trying to survive the tornado of steel directed at him. At this rate, he wouldn't even see her finishing blow coming. "Using the people around you to get what you want. Your brother, your family, even that Star clan killer." She charged towards him, intent on securing her revenge.

She nearly stopped dead in her tracks when Black Star swung around mere inches before she could strike him.

"You shut your damn mouth!" he shouted, catching the needle against his katan's guard.

As Aiko looked on wide-eyed, Ichi lunged for his distracted foe. Far from getting a clean shot, though, he found his weapon blocked by a sheet of black as Black Star's scarf swept around to intercept him. He snarled as the scarf whipped out at him, putting him on the defensive.

"I don't care what you have to say about me," Black Star said, "but you're not going to badmouth Tsubaki while I'm around!" He pushed his weapon against the needle, forcing both closer to Aiko.

As she struggled to keep the sword back, Ichi swung his blade through Black Star's scarf, slicing it in two. The severed shadow seemed to hang in the air for a moment before evaporating into smoke. The remnant of the scarf still wrapped around his neck recoiled like a wounded animal.

"Black Star, behind you!" Tsubaki shouted as Ichi lunged for him.

With only seconds to react, Black Star delivered a fierce headbutt straight to Aiko's temple. As she fell backward to the ground he was already turning to intercept Ichi's attack.

"And just what the hell is your problem Sour Puss?" Black Star asked as his sword stopped the blade. "What, did I give you that pretty scar?"

Ichi bared yellow teeth in an unsettling grin. "The man who gave me this scar is long dead," he said before he slid his blade down to the katana's guard. The chakram that flared out at the base of his weapon cut into Black Star's hand. "You can ask him what happened when you join him."

Black Star let out a ragged cry as he pulled back from his foe. He managed to keep both hands fixed on his sword even as his injured hand trembled.

"Don't assume you know anything about me, boy," Ichi said as he loomed over him. "I'm not here for any petty grudge, especially not someone else's." His eyes flashed briefly to Aiko, who was still dazed and struggling to pull herself back to her feet. "The only reason I'm here is to prove I'm the strongest killer there is, nothing more."

Black Star was silent. As he looked his self-interested opponent over he came to the grim realization that he was nearing his limit. So far he had only barely been able to keep Ichi from ending him and with every blow he countered he was running out of strength. Tsubaki might have been able to cover him but even her powers were beginning to falter. The two of them wouldn't last long against a single foe, let alone two.

Aiko was still down on the ground but he knew it wouldn't be long before she was back up. If they were going to have any chance of survival, he would have to take Ichi out before that could happen. His scarf extended out, billowing around him in a wild, unpredictable pattern. He felt the anxiety in Tsubaki's movements. She knew, same as him, how dire their situation was.

Ichi sneered. "Once I kill you, no-one will doubt my power!" he cried as he lashed out in a wild, reckless charge.

Black Star stood fast, desperate to find an opening he could exploit. He didn't know if he could pull this off but he knew he'd die before he let either of these bastards hurt his partner.

That's when it happened. In the midst of his frenzied charge, the remorseless killer stumbled.

"What the-" he spat, struggling to stay standing as something sharp dug into his heel. He looked down to see a fox frantically snapping at his foot. "Fuck!"

"Black Star, now!" Tsubaki cried. He didn't need any further hint. He roared as he lunged forward, plunging his katana straight towards his enemy's heart with all the strength he could muster.

Ichi wasn't caught completely off-guard. He hastily brought his weapon down to intercept but in the heat of the moment overshot his target. Instead of connecting with his blade, the katana stabbed through his wrist and punctured his chest. He let out an agonized scream as his fingers spasmed, dropping the chakram blade to the ground. Blood gushed from his wrist onto the katana's blade.

For a moment it seemed to be over. Black Star felt his legs begin to wobble, the rush of adrenaline finally leaving him as he waited for his opponent to fall.

Instead, he saw a fire ignite in Ichi's eyes.

"You owe me a new weapon, punk!" Ichi shouted. He pulled his uninjured hand back into a fist and backhanded Black Star across the face.

Black Star felt his fingers slide off the hilt of his katana as he fell back. He heard Tsubaki call out his name but by the time he hit the ground he couldn't feel the comforting thrum of their resonance.

The world seemed to spin around him as he fought to stay conscious. He looked up to see Aiko staring slack-jawed at her partner. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the fox scampering back to the woods. He pulled his gaze down past the sea of blue hanging above him to finally look back at his foe.

Ichi stood above him, Tsubaki's blade still stabbed through his wrist. His other hand was gripped around the hilt, sparks of electricity flying from where they touched. He roared, veins bulging on his forehead as he pulled. The katana's blade changed from brilliant white to black as it slid out of his chest and wrist with a spurt of crimson. His injured arm fell limp at his side, fingers twitching as blood dripped down his hand. He smiled grimly as he hefted the katana in one hand.

Black Star felt a chill go down his spine.

"Very nice," Ichi said, swinging the katana through the air. His chest heaved as he took a wheezing breath. "Thanks for the sword, brat. I'll be sure to take good care of her."

Black Star's heart raced as he watched Ichi hold the katana aloft, ready to deliver the killing blow. Tsubaki, he had to remind himself. He was holding Tsubaki. Why wasn't she saying anything? Was she scared? Did she hate him for failing her so utterly? Perhaps she had chosen to abandon him here. He struggled to call out to her but couldn't summon the strength as her blade swung down towards him.

The swing came to an abrupt halt three feet above Black Star. Ichi grimaced in frustration, looking to all the world as though he were unable to cut through thin air. Black Star blinked as he watched the impromptu mime routine. It wasn't until he saw the black tattoos manifest on Ichi's face that his eyes widened in realization.

"'At da 'ell?" Ichi tried to ask, his jaw locking up as his eyes went white.

"I don't need to match your wavelength to possess you," Tsubaki said, her disembodied voice echoing from her weapon form, "but just being this close to your soul is enough to make my skin crawl."

"Tsubaki!" Black Star cried with renewed energy.

"Greedy idiot," Aiko said as she watched her partner stand rooted in place.

"You wanted to wield the Uncanny Blade?" Tsubaki asked, her image reflecting back in the katana. "Let's see how well you can handle it."

Ichi's hand trembled as though he were desperately trying to drop the katana in his grip. The tattoos of the uncanny blade seemed to darken on his face. His own shadow rose up off the ground and began to oscillate around him like some sinister aura. He vocalized a long, strangled cry as his entire body violently trembled, unable to resist as Tsubaki inflicted the full capabilities of the Uncanny Blade's possession on his soul.

When Ichi finally stopped screaming, his face had turned deathly pale. The shadows of the Uncanny Blade dissipated, leaving him teetering in place for a brief moment before he fell forward. Black Star quickly rolled out of the way before he crashed to the ground with a thunk. The sword in his hand evaporated into smoke that rapidly coalesced into Tsubaki.

"Woah," Black Star said, looking over at the ghoulish figure frozen in agony next to him. "Is he…You know?"

"He's not getting back up," she said. She knelt down next to him, braced her arm under his armpit and asked, "Can you stand?"

"Oh yeah, no problem, I'm feeling just-Gah!" he cried out as Tsubaki pulled him up.

She grimaced. "Sorry!"

"S'okay," he said, ignoring the shooting pain in his back. "What about her?" They both turned to Aiko, who glowered up at them with pure malice. "How do you want to handle her?"

"Honestly I'd rather not kill her if we have the choice," she said with a frown, "but I guess that's kind of up to her at this point."

"Oh save it!" Aiko shouted. "I'll gladly die right here if it means I won't have to listen to your hypocrisy!"

Tsubaki felt herself tremble. For the first time since they'd been forced to flee, though, it wasn't fear that made her shake. She helped Black Star to stand on his own power before she marched over to Aiko. She grabbed her cousin by the hand and forcefully pulled her to her feet.

"You want to know why I had to kill Masamune?" she asked, her voice loud. "See for yourself!"

Aiko looked down to find herself holding the Uncanny Sword. She looked back up to find Tsubaki, Black Star, and the forest all gone. She was standing on some vast, dark ocean beneath a dreary lilac sky. In the distance, spindly figures of shadow swayed in rhythm with the chattering of the black moon hanging overhead.

And standing before her was Masamune. He looked straight through her with piercing eyes that made her want to recoil. She called out his name but he didn't acknowledge her in the least.

"So, aren't you going to try and possess me?" she heard someone ask. Aiko turned and saw Tsubaki standing behind her, holding a kusarigami that was identical to her weapon form.

"Soul Possession?" Masamune asked. "No, I think I'll devour your soul just the way it is."

They moved through Aiko like phantasms as they clashed with each other. She stood there, transfixed, as Masamune lashed out at Tsubaki with unsettling brutality. She watched her endure violence that should by all rights have been her end. She listened as he declared his intentions.

"Tsubaki. I will kill you, become a kishin..." he said as his shadows tightened around her throat. "...and then master the martial way."

She felt ill as she watched it all play out in front of her. As he plunged the blade into her chest Aiko screamed and dropped the blade in her own hands.

She stumbled backwards as the forest suddenly reappeared around her. The katana lying there on the ground transformed back into Tsubaki. Black Star stood there, dumbfounded.

"Did I just miss something?" he asked.

Tsubaki didn't break eye-contact with her cousin. "I told you, I didn't have a choice."

Aiko was wide-eyed like some caged animal. She shook her head, muttering something under her breath.

"Is she cool?" Black Star asked, moving alongside his partner. "Because she doesn't look cool."

"Aiko?" Tsubaki asked, her voice soft. "I'm sorry you had to see that but you needed to understand what happened to him."

"It's not true," Aiko said, still shaking her head. "It can't be true."

Tsubaki took a step towards her. "I know it's not easy to-"

"Stay back!" she shouted. Her hand flew towards something small and black at her hip. "You're lying! It isn't true!" She flung the tiny object to the ground, throwing a smokescreen up all around them.

Black Star tried to block the smoke from his eyes. He looked around frantically, certain that she would try to attack them from under cover of smoke. As the blanket of gray faded, though, only he and Tsubaki remained.

"Where did she go?" He grabbed Tsubaki's hand. "Come on, we've got to find her." As he tried to take a step forward she stayed in place, holding onto him.

"Black Star," she said quietly, squeezing his hand. "Let her go."

'Let her go?' he thought to himself. The idea was preposterous, insane. He broke out in a cold sweat as he thought about another innocent getting caught in the crossfire of her mad quest. He imagined Angela lying on the ground, dead by her hand, and it lit a spark in his heart that could have burned down the entire forest.

He turned back to Tsubaki in a frenzy, ready to hunt Aiko down even if it killed him. One look into her eyes, though, and the fire inside him died. The weariness there was enough to make him feel the weight of his own exhaustion redoubled. It was more than that, though; there was an emptiness in her stare, like something had broken inside of her. As difficult as it would have been for him to go after Aiko, in that moment the prospect must have looked impossible to her.

He frowned but nodded reluctantly. She squeezed his hand tight. The world around him seemed to spin and he couldn't help but collapse to his knees.

"Are you alright?" she asked, kneeling down to put an arm around him.

He looked up at her, still seeing the emptiness in her eyes. "Are you?"

She blinked and gave him a very weak smile. She began to shake her head, her eyes glassy as she replied, "No. I'm really not."

He smiled back. "Yeah, me neither." He laughed as if he had said something funny.

It took him by surprise when she started to laugh too. There was no reason for it, there was nothing funny about their situation, and yet she couldn't help but laugh. Soon they were both laughing uncontrollably as though they had just heard something unfathomably funny. They locked arms around each other and didn't let go even as their laughter turned into sobbing. As their cries died down into silence they remained in each other's embrace.

"I guess it's over, huh?" he whispered into her ear. "We made it."

"I guess so," she whispered back, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Oh it's not over," a voice spoke, startling both of them. They turned in shock to find Daji standing over them looking no worse for the wear. "You two delinquents aren't going anywhere until you fix my damn house."

"Old lady!?" Black Star cried. "But you were dead? I held you in my arms!"

Her face contorted with confusion. "What are you talking about? I'm fine." She grabbed her cane and began to poke it against his head. "And holding me? In your filthy arms? Get your mind out of the gutter, you shameless deviant!"

"Stop that." He scowled as she continued to jab at him. "Seriously, stop it."

"How did you-" Tsubaki began before looking back to where he had set down Daji. Nothing was there, not even an imprint on the grass where she had been. She turned back, eyes narrowing. "We both saw you right there. What happened to you?"

Daji ignored her and stepped around them, continuing to poke at Black Star as she did.

"First you're going to repair that hole you put in my house, then you're going to clean up the ornaments you broke, then you're going to clean up my entire house to pay off what was broken, and THEN..." She took a deep breath before continuing, "you are going to get a stern talking to about not attracting dangerous threats to an old woman's home!"

"I think we should have just run when we had the chance," Black Star said.

"If you're planning to give Black Star a lecture," another voice called out, "you're going to have to get in line. I already promised to give him a piece of my mind."

Tsubaki felt her heart skip a beat. "Ms Azusa!"

"Sorry I'm late." Azusa stepped out of the trees with one arm in a sling and bandages wrapped around one eye. DWMA agents in tactical gear flanked her on either side. She pointed to her left and the agents nodded, hurrying off in that direction. Another two agents swept in behind them, moving towards Ichi. "Are you two alright?" she asked, her gaze sweeping over their surroundings.

Black Star smiled. "We'll live," he said as Tsubaki helped him to his feet, "but other than that, don't ask."

"What happened?" Tsubaki asked. "When we saw the explosion, we feared the worst."

She closed her eye. "One of the agents on my team was a mole with some kind of Anti-Academy extremist group. He set a bomb back at base camp." She sighed, her brow knit beneath the bandages. "I should have seen something like this coming. I underestimated our foes."

"Well you're in good company," Black Star replied. His good mood faded as he felt something prodding at his head. "I told you, knock it off old hag!"

"Watch your mouth, brat!" Daji shouted before looking over to Azusa. "And who are you?"

"Yumi Azusa, Death Scythe in charge of East Asia. I'm their superior." She brandished an ID badge in front of Daji's face and turned back to Tsubaki and Black Star. "It was no easy feat finding you two out here. I was worried we might be too late."

"Not to get technical but you were..." Black Star stopped when Azusa narrowed her eye on him. "Right on time! Great work boss!" he nervously gave her a thumbs up.

"How exactly did you find us out here?" Tsubaki asked.

She glanced to Daji, a smirk crossing her face. "We had a little help. I detected a witch releasing her soul protect somewhere in the forest. I followed the signal until we could find your souls."

Tsubaki's jaw dropped as she looked over at Daji. The stone-faced old curmudgeon crossed her arms and glanced away.

"So, wait, there was a witch around here?" Black Star asked, oblivious as always.

"I knew it!" Tsubaki cried. "Wait, so you were that-"

"Alright fine, you got me!" Daji interrupted. "I guess no good deed really does go unpunished. Should have just left you fools to fend for yourself."

Tsubaki smiled meekly. "For what it's worth, I'm glad you didn't. Thank you."

Her mouth scrunched into a frown but Tsubaki swore she heard her mutter something like 'you're welcome' before she turned back to Azusa. "And don't you go waving your credentials at me! Last time I checked, your boss made a truce with us witches so don't think your subordinates can get away with wrecking up my house!"

"I assure you," Azusa said, "once I've seen to the wellbeing of these two, the DWMA will make all due efforts to compensate you for the damages. Will that be acceptable?"

Daji stroked her chin and looked over to Black Star and Tsubaki. "I have some conditions."

"Aw man, I don't like where this is going," Black Star said. Tsubaki didn't say anything but her shoulders slumped as she sighed.

 

**

 

Black Star and Tsubaki were taken back to Death City. There, they were provided with medical treatment and had plenty of time to recover from their ordeal. Once they were recovered, however, they were required to return to Daji's cabin to work off the damage they had caused. The trip was a lot faster this time around thanks to a short detour through Witch World.

"Aargh!" Black Star shouted after setting down a stack of boxes. "How in the hell does this place have four bedrooms?!"

Tsubaki set down another stack of boxes and said, "We're probably better off not thinking about how any of this fits together." Despite the cabin's humble exterior, she had counted at least twenty rooms arranged in a floor plan that didn't begin to make sense.

"The old witch pulled a fast one on us, I'm telling you," he replied. "This has to be against labor laws or something!."

"Well she did help save our lives," she said, her eyes downcast. "And we did end up leading two assassins to her home." Black Star stared at her with one raised eyebrow until she finally relented with a sigh. "Okay, yes, even I think this has gotten ridiculous."

He dusted off his hands and said, "Exactly!" He walked over to the plush-looking bed at the center of the room and collapsed back onto it. "And that's why I'm calling it quits."

Tsubaki smirked at him. "You know Azusa expects us to honor this arrangement, right? You're really gonna tell her you walked out on the deal?"

His entire body tensed up, a look of sheer terror crossing his face. He sighed and said, "Okay then, five minute break and then we knock out the ballroom."

"Right!" she replied with an upbeat smile. As obnoxious as Daji's requests might have been, it was refreshing to see Black Star showing some work ethic. Even if it was under duress.

Black Star hummed softly as he rolled his shoulders against the soft mattress. "I am serious, we have got to get one of these things for back home." He felt something bounce down at one side of the mattress. He looked over to see Tsubaki sitting next to him. He rolled onto his side, his body sprawled out across the mattress in a languid pose and flashed her a cheesy smile.

"Care to test it out with me?" he asked, doing his best impersonation of some romantic film lead. Coming from Black Star, it sounded more like parody.

She looked at him with raised eyebrows for a brief moment and then, without another word, crawled up next to him on the bed. For the second time since he'd set down he felt entire body tense up.

"So, what did you have in mind?" she asked him. He had to admit, her sultry voice was way better than his.

"Well, uh, I mean," he stammered. He clearly hadn't expected to get this far. "We should, uh, probably, I think-"

She interrupted him with a tap on his nose. "Just kidding."

"Geeze, Tsu," he said with a loud sigh. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

She giggled. "After what we've been through, I think you can survive a little teasing, Casanova."

He crossed his arms and frowned, prompting more giggling from his partner. Despite his best effort to remain indignant, soon Black Star couldn't help but chuckle with her. Their laughter dragged on for an overly long time until they were left staring at each other in uncomfortable silence. This was the closest they had been since they had come back from the mission. Black Star couldn't stop thinking back to the two of them, lying on a bed like this one, slowly leaning closer. Tsubaki, on the other hand, was remembering the kiss they had shared as they huddled together in the dark. Neither of them could understand why they felt so awkward now, so afraid to address the elephant in the room.

"So," he said, fumbling for something, anything to say. "Do they have any leads on your cousin?" He watched her forehead crease with worry and instantly regretted his choice of words.

"No one in my family has heard from her in weeks," she said with a sidelong glance. "Even before she disappeared, they say they never saw her with Ichi or anyone else suspicious. It's like she was hiding this secret double-life from everyone."

He paused before asking, "She was like your brother, right?" She tilted her head in confusion. "I mean, not like that, I just was wondering, you know, if you were-" He groaned, tugging at his face. "Sorry. I never had any relatives growing up on account of, well, you know. I don't know how it works between cousins. How close were you two?"

"We were friends. Good friends, I thought," she said. "I guess our relationship was strained after..."

He nodded. "Yeah. I know."

"When Masamune fled, it splinted our clan. Some of my family thought he disgraced the clan." She looked away as she said, "Some of them thought the same thing about me."

"Huh?" He pushed himself up. "Why would anyone be upset with you?"

She glanced back at him, a troubled look on her face as she said, "My clan has a complicated history with the DWMA. A long time ago my ancestors fought against Death's forces. Even though we've been at peace for decades, some of my relatives can't let go of old grudges. When I joined the Academy to track down Masamune, they saw it as a betrayal."

"And I'm guessing Aiko was one of them," he said.

"It's more than that," she said, sitting up to face him. "For Aiko, it was personal. She idolized my brother, she wouldn't believe what he had done, but I..." she trailed off again, shaking her head. "I was obsessed with stopping him. I think, on some level, I started to hate him towards the end."

Black Star placed a hand on her shoulder as her head slumped down. "That's not so bad. It would honestly be weirder if you weren't mad at him."

"What if she was right?" she asked. "What if we could have done something for him, something to bring him back from the brink? What if my hatred blinded me to any possibility for redemption?"

He grabbed her by the arms, taking her by surprise. There was a steady look in his eyes as he said, "You did what you had to do. Look, I didn't know Masamune like you two did, but I saw what he was like at the end. If there was any part of the brother that you loved still in there, he would have been thankful that you stopped him."

For a fraction of a second, he swore he saw tears in her eyes. She didn't speak but her head nodded half-heartedly before tilting back down. He frowned, his hands still resting on her arms.

"Do you remember what you told me?" he asked. "That you wished you could believe in yourself more?" She perked back up and nodded. "The truth is I doubt myself, like, all the time. I seriously can't remember a day when I didn't question whether I was good enough."

The surprise that played across Tsubaki's face didn't fade quickly.

"Shocking, right?" he asked, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "That even someone as amazing as the Great Black Star knows how it feels to doubt myself?"

"Well when you put it like that," she said with a slightly sarcastic tone.

"My point," he said, "is that anyone can fall prey to their doubts, even me." He could still vividly remember his hallucinations under the effects of the nightshade. "Trust me, I know it's not always easy, but you can't let the bad thoughts blind you to the truth. You're a good person, Tsubaki. Don't doubt that."

She smiled and he swore it made his entire being feel warm. "Thanks Black Star."

"Hey, I should be thanking you," he said, beaming back at her. "When I woke up in that cave I was feeling completely pathetic. You really helped me out back there."

She didn't respond immediately, but as she silently turned his words over in her head she was struck by a thought. "You said that you didn't remember what happened that night."

"Huh?" He shifted nervously as he said, "Oh. I guess I do remember a few thing."

Her hands clasped tight around his arms. She was still smiling but there was something dark behind that cheerful face that made him shiver. "How much do you remember?"

"Uh," he stammered, "I mean, that's a very difficult question to answer."

"Black Star." She leaned in closer, growing more menacing. "How. Much."

He tried to lean back but found himself unexpectedly paralyzed in her grip. "I guess, if you want to get technical, I can remember everything up to the kiss." He saw the blush spread out across her face as he added, "And a little bit after that."

He felt a slight tremor in her arms. Her expression changed rapidly from embarrassment to frustration. As it did, the tremor intensified until she was shaking him furiously. "Why didn't you tell me, you jerk?!"

"I- think- I was- waiting- for the- right- moment," he tried to say as he flailed helplessly in her grasp. His head lolled back as she finally stopped shaking him. He looked and saw her head bowed, her bangs hiding her eyes. "Honestly, I think I was just scared. I was trying to get you to say it again before I told you I felt the same way."

She looked back up. Her face was red, her eyes misty. She opened her mouth but was silent for a moment. "What are you saying?" she finally asked.

"I'm saying that I love you too."

She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him close to her, passionately kissing him. He leaned hard into the kiss, hungrily running his tongue over hers. He fell back onto the bed, the heat of her body pressing down against his. She let her hands roam down his sides as he cupped her face in his hands, desperate to extend the kiss for as long as he could. When he finally did allow their lips to part, Tsubaki playfully tugged at his bottom lip with her teeth.

"Wow," he said, his breathing labored. "I really shouldn't have waited to say that."

She smirked. "Interested in making up for lost time?"

He mischievously rolled his eyes. "I don't know. How much time do you think we have before the old lady catches us?"

"Oh no, you're not getting away that easily," she said as she peppered kisses down the side of his neck, his body quivering with each one. "Not after making me wait for this long."

He cupped her chin and gently brought her face up to his. "I guess I'll just have to consider this my punishment," he said, running his thumb over her lips before pulling her into another deep kiss.


End file.
